The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) on Wednesday said that 82 bandits heavily armed with ‘very high’ calibre weapons, including Anti-Aircraft (AA) guns, have been killed and several others injured in air interdiction missions executed by the Air Component of Operation Hadarin Daji in Katsina and Zamfara States respectfully.
This was contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja by the Coordinator, Defence Media Operations (DMO), Major General John Eneche.
He said that 67 bandits were killed at Birnin Kogo Forest in Katsina while 15 armed bandits were eliminated at Ajjah Forest in Zamfara State during the airstrikes that were carried out on Monday.
He further explained that this followed credible Human Intelligence (HUMINT) reports as well as aerial surveillance missions that led to the identification of the two forest hideouts, which housed scores of the armed bandits along with hundreds of rustled cattle.
According to him, “the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) fighter jets and helicopter gunships dispatched by the Air Component to attack the two locations took turns in engaging the target areas, scoring accurate hits on the caves, which are used by the armed bandits to shield themselves from airstrikes”.
He said that the Military High Command commended the Troops and other Security Agencies operating in the North-West zone for their professionalism and urged them to remain resolute in order to eradicate all armed bandits.
The Coordinator, DMO, urged the members of the public within the affected areas to promptly report any persons with suspicious injuries to the nearest security or law enforcement agency post.
Nigerian Tribune