SEVERAL Boko Haram insurgents were killed during an air operation conducted by the air component of Operation Whirl Punch in the Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The operation was carried out following an intelligence report that a top Boko Haram commander, Madu Bodari and his members, were at the location.
The Director of Public Relations and Information, Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, said, in a statement on Sunday, that the air operations were successful, prompting the service to embark on another operation targeted at Bodari’s brother.
He said the two brothers were responsible for several attacks on communities in the state and its environs.
He said, “Nigerian Air Force aircraft under Operation Whirl Punch have sustained air strikes against terrorists operating in the North-West and North Central region of the country, leading to the decimation of several terrorist elements at Tsauni Doka at Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
“The strikes became necessary following credible intelligence revealed the presence of a terrorist kingpin known as Bodari and his foot soldiers at Tsauni Doka.
“Subsequently, air strikes were carried out on the location in the early hours of 16 November 2023, with devastating consequences on the terrorists. Similar strikes with positive outcomes were also carried out at a location about 500 metres east of Bodari’s hideout, believed to be the hiding place of Bodari’s brother, Nasiru. Both strikes were termed very successful as several terrorists were neutralised and their motorcycles destroyed.
“Bodari and his brother, Nasiru, alongside their cohorts, have been blamed for several attacks and abductions along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway, Kaduna-Birnin Gwari Road as well as in several communities in Niger and Kaduna states.”
