The Nigerian Military have neutralised about five Boko Haram Commanders and not less than 70 terrorists after the troops bombed a funeral procession in the country’s Northeast.
The insurgents were neutralised when a mass burial was organised for its deceased members in Sambisa Forest, Borno State, Northeast Nigeria, during a massive onslaught by the Troops of Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK).
Gaizuwa, Gabchari, Sheruri, Mantari, and Mallum Masari are villages in the Bama Local Government Area of Borno State that were the focus of Operation Hadin Kai, an intelligence-led aerial and ground coordinated operation that was launched on September 1, 2022. This operation included the Air Task Force, troops from the 199 Special Forces Battalion, and members of the 222 Battalion.
An early damage assessment confirmed the successful operation resulted in the elimination of high-ranking commanders, including Abou Hauwa, (Munzir) Amir Shettima, Akura Buri(Nakif), Abou Zainab, and Abou Idris and their fighters, according to Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency Expert and Security Analyst in Lake Chad.
According to sources, during the raid, ground troops raided a terrorist hideaway near Gafchari. There, they engaged the terrorists in a gunfight, which resulted in the deaths of over
The ATF delegated two Super Tucano jets to execute air interdiction missions against the militants in another coordination with the ground troops, which led to the neutralisation of further fighters.
According to him, “Similar strikes were also undertaken at Sheruri when the combat aircraft attacked another location of fighters deployed to stage an ambush against ground troops.”
He said the Super Tucano scored devastating hits, killing two terrorist Commanders; Akura Buri (Nakif) and Abou Hauwa; with more than 63 of their fighters and foot soldiers.
“In another encounter with the terrorists during the robust fighting patrol, the troops succeeded in eliminating another scores of insurgents in the axis of Mantari after a gun battle which lasted for about two and half hour.
“In Gazuwa, the troops destroyed two vehicles and the home of Abou Iklilima which used to be a hideout to insurgent Leaders. Other makeshift tent and properties belonging to terrorists were also destroyed,” he said.
According to him, few of the surviving terrorists who escaped the military raids returned on September 3 to recover corpses of their dead fighters at Sheruri and Gabchari.
He added that they were able to recover more than 30 among the fighters who drowned in the river in Gabchari.
“Additional 9 bodies who died as a result of bullet wounds were recovered around the bushes in Gaizuwa, among them were two Boko Haram Commanders including; Abou Zainab, Abou Idris.
“While they were making preparations to conduct mass burial for their Mujahedeens, the military authorities acting on the intelligence, deployed the Super Tucano to the location, killing unspecified numbers of them.”
The aftermath of the airstrike revealed that pandemonium broke out as the remnant of surviving terrorists took cover under nearby trees and later fled.
“The week-long sustained operations that were carried out simultaneously in different locations within the North East Theatre of Sambisa Forest by the troops of Operation Hadin Kai, has completely degraded the capabilities of the insurgents,” he said.