The AirForce on Sunday said it carried out a precision airstrike Friday through its air component of Nigeria’s Joint Task Force (North East) Operation Hadin Kai obliterating a key Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) logistics enclave near the abandoned village of Jilli in Borno State’s Gubio local government area.
Lieutenant Colonel Sani Uba, Media Information Officer of the Joint Task Force (North East) Operation Hadin Kai in a statement said the April 11 operation followed weeks of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance over the Bindul-Jilli axis, a notorious corridor for ISWAP militants and collaborators.
The Airforce statement counters a report by an international news media alleging that over 200 people were killed as a result of a mistaken bombing.
NewsQuest reports that I ntelligence reports had flagged the site as a hub for resupplying gun trucks and motorcycles used in recent assaults, including a deadly January improvised explosive device attack near Bindul that killed eight soldiers and coordinated strikes on April 9 in Ngamdu and Benisheik.
The Airforce said a urveillance platforms spotted motorcycles and vehicles converging on Jilli that day, movements corroborated by human sources.
According to the statement, after rigorous target validation, aircraft unleashed strikes that post-strike assessments confirmed as highly accurate.
“The enclave was destroyed, scores of terrorists killed, their vehicles reduced to wreckage, and survivors scattered.
“The raid thwarted planned assaults on Nigerian positions in the Gubio area, where logistics couriers were delivering food and supplies. On Saturday, troops arrested an ISWAP courier known as “Turja Bulu” in Ngamdu, who confessed to participating in the Benisheik attack and shuttling provisions from Jilli to militants hiding near Magumeri-Gubio,”the statement added.
Operation Hadin Kai, aimed at dismantling ISWAP networks in Nigeria’s insurgency-plagued northeast, underscored the military’s growing reliance on air power to choke terrorist supply lines.
Troops have banned motorcycles across Borno and Yobe states due to their role in attacks, treating violations as high-threat.
Airforce Commanders have vowed to intensify operations until all enclaves are eradicated, restoring security and economic stability to the region.
