ByKingsley Omonobi

In furtherance of the onslaught against terrorists, insurgents and other criminal elements making life unbearable for Nigerians being eliminated, fighter aircraft of the Nigerian Airforce have pounded terrorist Commander, Fiyal Ba Yuram enclave in Sambisa forest and killed scores of terrorists.

Also, several hideouts of Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists were destroyed while many terrorists met their waterloo in precision air strikes.

Sources disclosed that as at August 20, 2022, NAF aircraft under the Air Component of Operation Hadin Kai carried out strikes on terrorists enclave in Sambisa Forest and the Tumbuns in Borno State with varying degrees of success recorded.

A source said: “Acting on credible and actionable intelligence, NAF aircrafts were directed to an active location in Sambisa Forest believed to be the enclave of notorious terrorist, Fiya Ba Yuram.

“Fiya Ba Yuram is the current ISWAP leader of Sambisa Forest, who took over the leadership following the demise of Abubakar Shekau.

“Please note that the title ‘Fiya’ connotes the most senior position in the terrorist’s military leadership structure. Note also that Yuram was an ally of Shekau until his demise after which he switched allegiance to ISWAP.

“On arrival, the location was observed to be active with terrorists seen gathering. Air strikes were then authorized and carried out on the location.

“An assessment of the location after the strikes revealed it to be successful, though it remained unconfirmed if Fiya Ba Yuram was among the terrorists neutralized in the strikes.
“Similar air strikes were also undertaken in the Tunbuns near Lake Chad after suspected terrorists’ activities were observed in the area believed to be a training camp.

“The targets were subsequently acquired and engulfed in flames all after. The aftermath of the airstrike revealed that pandemonium broke out as the remnant of surviving terrorists took cover under nearby trees which were later struck by the aircraft.

“Though it remained uncertain and unclear if Fiya Ba Yuram was among the terrorists neutralized in the weekend strikes, the efforts of military must be commended.
“The ability of the AFN and other security agencies to pick out key terrorist targets for elimination, alongside their foot soldiers is also indicative of the credibility of the intelligence provided.

“The need, therefore, for all Nigerians to rally round and support the AFN and other security agencies remains a key motivator towards reducing, to the barest minimum, the threats posed by the activities of terrorists and insurgents.”

When contacted, NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet confirmed the strikes, saying that, “‘Yes, strikes were carried out on some specific targets in the Tunbuns and Sambisa with varying degrees of successes recorded.
“The NAF won’t be drawn into the details of those neutralized,” he added.