By Linus Aleke, Abuja
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) yesterday said the air component of ‘Operation Whirl Punch’ has killed over 44 terrorists on a motorcycle convoy in a Kaduna village.
The Director of Public Relations and Information, Nigerian Air Force, Air Vice Marshal Edward Gabkwet, in a statement, said the airstrike, which affected no fewer than 15 convoys of terrorist motorcycles, was part of its relentless campaign to rid the Northwest and Northcentral region of the menace of terrorism and Kidnapping.
The strike, Gabkwet said, followed an intelligence report of the movement of the syndicate along the Kwiga-Kampamin Doka axis in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area (LGA) of Kaduna State.
He noted that the intelligence also revealed that the same syndicate was responsible for the ambush on troops at Kwanan Mutuwa on 27 January 2024 as well as several attacks and abduction of innocent civilians in Birnin Gwari.
NAF spokesperson said, “On arrival at the suspected location, a deliberate and detailed scan revealed a trail of terrorists sighted moving in a convoy of about 15 motorcycles, each with at least 2 armed terrorists.
“Accordingly, the terrorists were trailed to a location where they converged before they were engaged and neutralized in a precision strike. The aftermath of the air strike revealed that several of the terrorists were eliminated as a result of the strike.”
He also disclosed that the success of this particular strike has drawn the attention of the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, who has applauded the Component Commander, and also ordered that the efforts must be sustained.
According to him, “While this does not call for celebration on our part, I must commend the professionalism of the crew for patiently trailing the criminals until an appropriate opportunity to strike presented itself. We must keep pushing and striving.”
