The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has announced the successful execution of a precision air interdiction (AI) mission at Dabar Masara, a known terrorist enclave in the Southern Tumbuns–Lake Islands axis, destroying key logistics and neutralising several terrorists.
The operation was carried out on December 14, 2025, as part of ongoing efforts to disrupt terrorist networks and degrade their operational capabilities.
In a statement issued on Monday, NAF spokesperson, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, said the strike followed credible intelligence indicating the presence of a terrorist workshop and sustained movement of armed elements within the area.
According to him, the intelligence prompted the Air Component of the Joint Task Force, Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), to deploy an integrated force package that combined intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions with precision strike operations.
“Prior ISR missions revealed repeated terrorist movement within the area, as well as a significant concentration of vehicles concealed under vegetation, confirming the location as an active terrorist logistics hub,” Ejodame said.
He added that further surveillance on the day of the operation validated the earlier findings, with terrorists observed manoeuvring within the location and around the identified vehicles.
“Following positive identification and in strict adherence to the Rules of Engagement, the targets were engaged,” he said.
According to the NAF spokesperson, post-operation battle damage assessment confirmed that the targeted vehicles were destroyed and several terrorist elements were neutralised.
Ejodame noted that the successful mission underscored the NAF’s continued commitment to intelligence-driven and precision air operations in support of national efforts to dismantle terrorist networks and enhance security in affected regions.
He recalled that in June this year, the NAF conducted a series of airstrikes around the Lake Chad area under Operation Hadin Kai, targeting Boko Haram and ISWAP enclaves, training camps and logistics hubs.
Those operations neutralised terrorists in Bukar Meram, disrupted planned attacks on Marte and Monguno, and destroyed hideouts and food depots across the Tumbuns area, significantly degrading insurgent activities.
He added that coordinated air interdictions in Chiraliya targeted makeshift shelters, logistics stores and movement corridors, inflicting heavy losses on the terrorists and disrupting their regrouping efforts.
Ejodame also noted that sustained airstrikes carried out in late 2024 across various locations in the Lake Chad Islands killed several terrorists and destroyed food depots following forced migration to higher ground caused by flooding.
According to him, the NAF’s sustained air operations continue to place significant pressure on insurgents operating in the difficult Lake Chad terrain, leveraging air power to achieve both tactical and strategic objectives against terrorist groups such as ISWAP and Boko Haram.
