The Nigeria Chief of air staff, Air marshal Sadique Abubakar

RAZAQ BAMIDELE

Maiduguri, Nigeria. Nov. 25, 2017 (AltAfrika)-The Nigeria Air Force (NAF),  Operation LAFIYA DOLE (Compulsory Peace), says it has successfully destroyed a Boko Haram Terrorists (BHT) facility in Borno where Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) are manufactured.

The facility according to a  statement from the  Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Olatokunbo Adesanya was located at a place known as YIWE Forest, located 23km south of Konduga in Borno State, in the North-East axis of Nigeria was destroyed on November 20.

The statement disclosed Previous NAF Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions had revealed the location to be a BHT hideout, from where the Maiduguri suicide bombing of 18 November 2017 was reportedly planned.

Available Human Intelligence also revealed that the hideout contained IED-making facility for the insurgents’ suicide bombing attacks, the statement added.

“Accordingly, one Mi-17 Helicopter, 2 x Alpha Jet and 2 x F-7Ni aircraft were detailed to carry out air interdiction on the target over a 2-day period. Overhead the location, the aircraft took turns to deliver a combination of bombs, rockets and cannons on the target.

“The subsequent Battle Damage Assessment (BDA) revealed that the strikes had destroyed the IED-making facility and other BHT structures, killing an unspecified number of insurgents in the process.The air strikes also caused a huge flame within the settlement, owing to the cache of IEDs stored by the BHTs, while a few fleeing insurgents were further strafed with cannons and rockets,” the statement concluded.