Military airstrikes kill three Boko Haram commanders, 27 fighters in Borno

Strikes by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Super Tucano fighter jets have killed three Boko Haram commanders in Sambisa Forest, Borno State.

The bombing of four Boko Haram camps on January 1, 2023, also neutralised 27 terrorists, while 40 others fled into the forest with gunshot wounds.

A counter-insurgency expert in the Lake Chad region, Zagazola Makama, disclosed, yesterday, in Maiduguri, that following credible intelligence of terrorists in four camps planning to launch attacks on nearby military posts, the jets truck the camps, killing most of them, including three of their leaders.

According to him, the targeted camps included Bula Jitoye, Halka Kojoy, Halka Alai and Bulamaye in Bama Local Council.

He said: “Boko Haram released two minutes 50 seconds video, where its fighters on motorbikes were burning makeshift houses and vehicles and killing some members of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).”

This occurred in less than 24 hours, after another 14-hour fierce battle between the two terror factions at Toumbun Allura and Kangar axes in the border areas of Niger, he added.

Makama, who described the attacks as “The battle of vengeance”, said Ali Ngulde and other commanders, including Abu Nazir, Muke, Ba’a Isa and Mallam Abubakar, spearheaded them.

A military source in Maiduguri also stated that the coordinated joint air and ground patrols followed the terrorists’ deadly clashes within the area of operations.

The source, therefore, noted that one of the commanders, simply referred to as Captain or Medical Doctor, was killed by the airstrikes at Bula Jitoye camp, adding: “The two others, (names unconfirmed) were killed in Halka Kojoye and Halka Alai.”

One of the terrorists was heard in an intercepted communication, stating: “We are killing the ISWAP and seizing all their weapons. But our major problem is that the military fighter jets are killing us too.

“On January 1, 2023, we lost about 30 fighters, including three of our commanders.”