The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has neutralised several high-ranking ISWAP commanders, including Saddam and Saleh Garin Kago, during a precision air raid on terrorist enclaves in the Sambisa forest area of Borno State.
According to Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency outlet covering the Lake Chad region, the operation was executed by the air component of Operation Hadin Kai at approximately 6:08am on Friday. The mission focused on structures within the Yuwe axis that had been identified through intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) as command centres and logistics depots.
Sources cited by the publication disclosed that Hussaini Ubaida and Ba Alayi Benbem were also among those killed, while key terrorist infrastructure was destroyed.
Zagazola Makama reported that military aircraft deployed precision-guided munitions after confirming the targets before take-off.
A post-strike battle damage assessment indicated that the command hubs and storage facilities were successfully obliterated, significantly weakening ISWAP’s operational strength in the Sambisa corridor.
Efforts are ongoing to ascertain additional casualties resulting from the strike.
The theatre command reaffirmed its resolve to sustain intelligence-led operations aimed at dismantling terrorist leadership, cutting off supply networks and denying insurgents safe havens in the North-East.