The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) says its Air Task Force (ATF) of Operation LAFIYA DOLE, has neutralised several Boko Haram Terrorists (BHTs) at Abulam in the Sambisa Forest area of Borno.
The NAF said it also destroyed some of the terrorists’ structures in their camp at Abulam.
Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, NAF Director of Public Relations and Information who disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, said the operation was conducted on Tuesday.
Daramola said the mission was executed to mark the commencement of Operation RATTLE SNAKE 2.
Operation Rattle Snake 2 is an Air Interdiction Operation aimed at taking out some identified insurgent camps and logistics facilities in order to further unhinge the terrorists’ centre of gravity and diminish their fighting capability.
He explained that Abullam was selected for attack on Day One of the Operation based on credible intelligence reports indicating that the terrorists had resumed using the once abandoned settlement as a staging point from where they launch attacks against own ground troops’ locations.
” Accordingly, the ATF detailed its attack aircraft, supported by an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft, to attack designated compounds within the settlement.
” The jets took turns to engage the target in successive passes leading to the destruction of some of the structures as well as the killing of several terrorists,” he said.
Daramola recalled that NAF in early to mid Dec. 2019, planned and executed the highly successful Operation RATTLE SNAKE 1.
He said Operation RATTLE SNAKE 2 was conceived to consolidate the gains of the earlier operation and shape the battle space for further air and ground operations.(NAN)
