The Air Task Force (ATF) of Lafiya Dole, in continuation of air strikes being conducted under subsidiary Operation Hail Storm, has successfully neutralized some Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) commanders and cleared out logistics facilities at Bukar Meram on the fringes of the Lake Chad in Borno State, while also eliminating several terrorists at Dole, a settlement in the Southern part of Borno State.
In a statement released by the Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Major General John Enenche, at the Defense Headquarters in Abuja today, air interdiction missions were executed on 17 August following credible intelligence reports indicating a resurgence of terrorists’ activities in the two settlements.
The attack on Bukar Meram, which was executed by an enhanced force package of Nigeria Air Force (NAF) fighter jets and helicopter gunships, led to the destruction of the logistics facilities of the terrorists and their neutralization, as well as that of their leaders, having hit designated targets in the area. Bukar Meram is known to be a major ISWAP logistics hub, linking other Island settlements of the Lake Chad, which also houses several of their fighters and some of their key leaders.
The statement further revealed that the attack at Dole was carried out following reports from Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions, which showed a build up of activities in the area after the relocation of some terrorists from nearby settlements of Kokiwa and Yale. Overhead the area, the ISR aircraft spotted no fewer than twenty terrorists in the area, which were swiftly taken out by the NAF attack aircraft.
