No fewer than 15 Boko Haram terrorists were killed when a jet in the fleet of the Nigerian Air Force attacked their location in Borno State on Sunday.
The Boko Haram terrorists, according to information provided by the spokesperson of the NAF, Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa, were hiding under trees prior to their attacking the ground troops involved in Operation Lafiya Dole.
Famuyiwa said the terrorists were in seven Hilux vehicles and in the process of moving to ambush the troops at Doron Naira in the northern part of Borno State.
He said a Nigerian Air Force King Air A350i Beechcraft aircraft on Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance mission sighted the terrorists, after which an Alpha Jet was scrambled to attack the location.
He said further in the statement: “The attack was successful as 15 members of the BHTs were killed and the whole vehicles knocked out.
“The casualty figure was confirmed by ground forces who subsequently consolidated on the gains of the air effort to pursue and inflict further casualty on the fleeing wounded members of the terrorist group.
“Troops also confirmed two gun trucks were among vehicles destroyed by the Alpha Jet as two AK-47 rifles, two RPGs and cache of assorted munitions were recovered.”
Famuyiwa said the latest victory against the insurgents brings to fore the important role of airpower in counterinsurgency operation.
He said in furtherance of this role, the NAF has been relentless in its effort to shape the battle space and provide favourable environment for the ground troops, adding: “The recent deployment of additional platforms to increase the tempo of air operations at the commencement of OPERATION GAMA AIKI is aimed at fostering this objective.
“The foiled plan to ambush own surface forces by BHTs shows that the air efforts by the NAF has started to yield the desired results.”
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