Air force bombs ‘bandits’ in Zamfara

The Nigerian air force says it has destroyed another armed bandits’ hideout and neutralised several of their fighters near Doumbourou Hill in Zamfara.

Ibikunle Daramola, air force director of public relations and information, said the operation was carried out by the air task force of operation Diran Mikiya.

He said in a statement: “The attack was executed yesterday, Jan 2, following human intelligence (HUMINT) reports, which were later confirmed by Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), missions, indicating that a large number of bandits, armed with high calibre weapons, regularly assemble at a compound around the foot of the hill before going out on operations.

“Accordingly, the ATF scrambled two Nigerian Air Force (NAF) attack helicopters, supported by an ISR platform, to engage the bandits and destroy their compound.

“The helicopters strafed the target area in successive waves of attack, with the first wave causing some damage to the structures and neutralising some of their fighters.

“The second wave was sequenced to engage the armed bandits as they re-emerged out of their hiding places, thus inflicting further fatalities on them.”

Daramola said credible HUMINT sources later revealed that the leader of the group was among those killed during the attack.

He said the ATF would continue to work in close coordination with surface forces and other security agencies, to conduct reconnaissance and air interdiction missions with a view to restoring normalcy to the affected states in the north-west.