Airstrikes by Nigerian Air Forces (NAF) Air Component of Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) has neutralised scores of Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists, destroying their ammunition dump in a precision airstrike conducted on Sunday in the Arinna Waje general area of Marte Local Government Area (LGA) of Borno State, Northeast Nigeria.
Sources told Zagazola Makama that the operation followed credible intelligence and persistent surveillance which confirmed the massive convergence of terrorists in the area.
The convergence came five days after a bloody encounter between the ISWAP group and a rival Boko Haram faction.
Sources noted that based on the intelligence, a NAF fighter jets under the Air Component of OPHK ) were scrambled to engage the identified locations in a series of well-coordinated bombardments.
“The strikes, executed with surgical precision, resulted in the total annihilation of several terrorist enclaves and logistics nodes within the target area.
“One of the airstrikes also triggered a secondary explosion, confirming a direct hit on a major terrorist ammunition storage site,”the sources added.
According to the sources, key ISWAP commanders were among those neutralised in the operation.
The sources added that the NAF, in synergy with surface forces and intelligence platforms, will sustain the momentum to deny the terrorists freedom of action and degrade their capabilities in the Lake Chad and Sambisa axis.
Written with reports from Zagazola Makama