Nearly 600 militants killed in Nigeria airstrikes in eight months, air force says
PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — A Nigerian Air Force A-29 Super Tucano aircraft pilot fires two .50-caliber machine guns at a target at the Grand Bay Bombing and Gunnery Range near Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, Sept. 1, 2021. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Rebeckah Medeiros via U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service - DVIDS)
LAGOS - Nigeria's military has killed 592 armed militia members in the northeastern sate of Borno in the past eight months, after stepping up air strikes in a region hit by years of violence, the air force said.
The results surpassed the operational gains recorded in 2024, Chief of Air Staff Hasan Abubakar said during a visit to Borno Governor Babagana Zulum on Tuesday.
Abubakar said the air force also destroyed more than 200 technical vehicles and 166 logistics hubs in a sweeping offensive against insurgents in the northeast.
Militants from Boko Haram and its splinter group, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), have attacked security forces and civilians in Nigeria’s northeast, causing widespread displacement and thousands of deaths.
Militia gangs in Borno State have killed at least 2,000 people since 2023, according to Nigeria Watch, a database that monitors lethal conflicts and security in the country.
"This year, our air war is faster, sharper and more surgical," Abubakar said. "We are taking out high-value targets, crippling logistics networks and dismantling cells that threaten peace in the northeast."
Confidence MacHarry, Senior Analyst at research consultancy SBM Intelligence in Lagos, said it was hard to independently verify how effective the air campaign had been.
"However, the reality on the ground shows that the military's claim of success pales in comparison to gains and successful attacks carried out by the leading Boko Haram factions in Borno since the renewed ISWAP offensive was launched late 2024," he told Reuters.
Abubakar said the operation involved coordinated day-and-night air strikes across key locations in the state, including Gonori, Rann, Dikwa, Damboa, Azir and Mallam Fatori.
He said it was bolstered by A-29 Super Tucano aircraft capable of precision and night missions, Mi-171 helicopters for medical evacuation and logistics, and enhanced surveillance platforms for round-the-clock target tracking.
A newly acquired Mi-35 gunship is expected to further strengthen close-air support for ground forces, Abubakar said.
He said Nigerian Air Force aircraft flew 798 combat sorties and logged over 1,500 operational flight hours under Operation Hadin Kai, Nigeria's military's counterinsurgency operation in the northeast.
This week, the military said it killed scores of armed gang members in a joint air and ground operation in Zamfara, northwest Nigeria, after more than 400 of them were seen preparing to attack a village in the state.
(Reporting by Ahmed Kingimi, writing by Ben Ezeamalu, editing by Giles Elgood // REUTERS)
