NAF neutralises Boko Haram fighters in Lake Chad

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Scores of Boko Haram fighters have been neutralized by airstrikes in Bakassi, on the fringes of Lake Chad, Borno State, the Air Force said on Sunday.

According to a statement signed by Air Force spokesman Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, the terrorists were neutralised and their structures destroyed during air interdictions.

Air Commodore Daramola said: “The Air Task Force (ATF) of Operation Lafiya Dole has destroyed additional terrorists’ structures and killed some Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters at Bakassi on the fringes of Lake Chad in Borno State in an airstrike conducted on July 6, 2019.

“The attack was executed as a follow-up to air raids conducted at the same location on June  28, 2019, after intelligence reports indicated that the ISWAP elements, having suffered heavy casualties during the attack, had relocated surviving fighters and logistics supplies to another part of the settlement, as confirmed by Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions.

“The ATF, therefore, dispatched two Alpha Jets to attack the location, with accurate hits on the identified structures, which were seen engulfed in flames.

“Several terrorists were also neutralised as a result of the strike. The attached short video clip, now declassified, shows parts of the attack.

“The Nigerian Air Force (NAF), operating in concert with surface forces, will sustain the effort to completely degrade the terrorists in the Northeast.”