BY AMOS DUNIA, ABUJA – Following the rising attacks on troops by members of the Boko Haram terrorists, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Air Task Force of OPERATION LAFIYA DOLE on Tuesday commenced an intensive bombardment of the hideouts of Boko Haram terrorists in Northern Borno and the Sambisa general area.
The operation codenamed, “Operation RUWAN WUTA 3”, witnessed an air interdiction mission that was conducted on a Boko Haram terrorists’ hideout in Kolaram, which is 37km East of Monguno, Borno State on its first day.
A statement by the Director, Public Relations and Information of NAF, Air Vice Marshal Olatokumbo Adesanya said that previous Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions by the Nigerian Air Force platforms revealed Kolaram to be an active Boko Haram location from where the terrorists had launched attacks on the Nigerian surface forces in Northern Borno.
According to him; ”Two NAF helicopters were detailed for a pre-dawn attack on the settlement, followed by another wave of attacks from 4 fighter aircraft.
“Battle Damage Assessment (BDA) showed that several structures were destroyed, causing fire within the settlement while some insurgents were killed in the process.
“On the same day, one NAF helicopter and some fighter aircraft attacked an adjoining settlement Southeast of Kolaram, targeting structures that had been observed to host significant BHT activities.”
Adesanya said that the targeted Boko Haram terrorists’ structures were destroyed and engulfed in fire thereby killed the insurgents hiding in them, adding that during the attacks on Kolaram and Southeast of Kolaram, some escaping insurgents were tracked as they fled northwards to Jubilarm, which is 38km Northeast of Monguno.
He further said; “Accordingly, another wave of air interdiction was launched on the location, which was also found to be active with BHT activities. Four NAF fighter aircraft took turns to attack structures occupied by BHT elements in the settlement.
“Subsequent BDA revealed that the attacks resulted in a large part of the settlement being engulfed in fire, thereby destroying the BHTs structures and neutralizing the fleeing BHTs.”
