Nigerian Air Force fighter jets destroy terrorists’ hideouts, logistics facilities in Sambisa forest, kill several fighters

By Augustine Osayande

The Air Task Force (ATF) of Operation LAFIYA DOLE has neutralized scores of terrorists and destroyed their hideouts and logistics structures at Tumbuma Baba and Boboshe in Sambisa forest area of Borno State.

In a statement on Monday, Coordinator Defence Media operations, Defence Headquarters, Major General John Enenche, said operation was achieved in air strikes executed on 16th August 2020, which was the first day of missions of a new subsidiary Operation codenamed “HAIL STORM”.

Enenche explained that the “HAIL STORM” was an air interdiction operation aimed at taking out identified Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram Terrorists’ (BHTs’) targets in the Lake Chad and Sambisa Forest areas of Borno State.

He said the attack at Tumbuma Baba, an Island settlement on the fringes of the Lake Chad, was carried out after Human Intelligence (HUMINT) reports indicated that several ISWAP fighters and some of their leaders were harboured in some structures concealed under the thick vegetation of the area.

The Coordinator, Defence Media operations, said the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) fighter jets dispatched by the ATF to attack the location scored devastating hits on the settlement, killing several of the terrorists and destroying their structures.

He added that several terrorists were similarly neutralized and some of their dwellings destroyed at Boboshe, a village along the river line on the Eastern part of the Sambisa Forest, as the NAF jets took turns in engaging the location.

Enenche said the Armed Forces of Nigeria, operating in concert with other security agencies and stakeholders, would sustain its efforts to rid the North East of all terrorists and other criminal elements.