NAF Airstrikes Kill 3 ISWAP Commanders, Others in Borno

In Marte and Kukawa in Borno State, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Air Component of Operation Hadin Kai has eliminated three Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) commanders along with a number of other fighters.

Abou Maimuna, Abou Zahra, and ‘Commander’ Saleh are among the commanders.

Sources revealed that the actions were carried out on January 10 after a NAF Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft observed the terrorists moving in canoes. Air Commodore UU Idris, the new Air Component Commander of Operation Hadin Kai, oversaw the activities.

Expert in counter-insurgency and well-versed in Lake Chad, Zagazola Makama, confirmed the operation and said the fighters were destroyed in a series of attacks by the attack planes as they attempted to flee.

The three commanders aboard the canoe, along with a few of their lieutenants, met their Waterloo during the strikes, according to reliable sources.

Subsequent disclosures indicated that other strikes occurred in the vicinity of Ali Sherifti or Kwatan Shalla along the Kukawa axis, resulting in the confirmed deaths of an additional number of ISWAP terrorists.