By Our Correspondent
A joint coordinated operation between the Air Component and Land Component of Operation FANSAN YAMMA has destroy Lakurawas Terrorists Group (LTG) hideouts at Gidan Bisa and Gidan Runtuwa in Jirikon Forest in Silame LGA of Sokoto State.
The Director, Defence Media Operations (DDMO), Major General Edward Buba who made this known to newsmen in a press statement on Friday Informed that the destruction of key infrastructure used by the terrorists including arms cache and logistics dumps confirmed strike’s effectiveness.
He mentioned that the air strike on the terrorist arms cache and logistics dump also led to other secondary explosions causing hoarded munitions to explode in different directions that resulted in 10 deaths.
According to him, efforts are ongoing to determine whether or not they were terrorist collaborators and will not relent in targeting and dislodging terrorists across our nation.
The DDMO affirmed that the Armed Forces of Nigeria has a duty to defend citizens from terrorists either through peaceful means, or the force of arms.
Prior to the operation, ” Maj Gen Buba explained that there were heightened terrorist activities in the area.
“The military conducted sustained Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions for over extended periods to painstakingly confirm that those hibernating in the area were Lakurawa terrorists.
“Significantly , the operation was rescheduled from an earlier date to 25 Dec 24 in order to allow for further confirmation using Human Intelligence.
“The joint operation was planned such that, the Air Component’s precision strike capability was complimented by the Land Component’s boots on the ground.
“Pre-operation ISR missions confirmed significant terrorist activity within the general area.
“HUMINT reports equally corroborated the ISR findings, emphasizing the strategic importance of neutralizing the location.
“Subsequently, aircraft conducted a precision airstrike on the identified hideouts at about 0600hrs.
“The strike was executed with precision-guided munitions to minimize collateral damage.
“The Land Component deployed at blocking positions around the target location to prevent the escape of Lakurawas terrorists.
“They also provided immediate post-strike assessment and follow-up actions.
“Following the airstrike, ground forces moved into the area to assess the strike’s impact.
“The ground forces confirmed that the hideout was successfully neutralized, with minimal damage observed in the surrounding village.
“The ground forces interacted with the locals in the area who confirmed the presence of the Lakurawas terrorist in the general area.
“The airstrike achieved its primary objective of neutralizing the Lakurawa terrorist in their concentration area.
Meanwhile, locals of the area confirmed that Lakurawas terrorists stayed in the village and used the general areas as a staging area for their operation.
ISR and HUMINT reports prior to the operation consistently indicated the hideout was a high-concentration terrorist location.
Overall, troops will continue to take “painstaking measures to avoid civilian casualties, noting that all civilian casualties are viewed as a needless tragedy” he noted.
