Precision airstrikes undertaken by the Air Component Operation Whirl Stroke in Shiroro, Niger State, have killed two wanted Boko Haram commanders, Abu Ubaida and Mallam Yusuf Abba, together with about 40 of their foot soldiers at an abandoned warehouse in Kurebe, a popular community in Shiroro local government area.
Military sources said Abu Ubaida and Yusuf Abba met their Waterloo when airstrikes conducted by a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) hit their enclave recently.
“It would be recalled that on December 22, 2022, a NAF aircraft struck a terrorists’ gathering at Kurebe in Shiroro local government area. Several terrorists were killed, but it was unclear if any of the terrorist kingpins was killed eliminated in the air attacks.
“Consequently, after the said airstrike, preliminary investigations via exploitation of several sources revealed that there was underground in the warehouse where the terrorists run to hide whenever a NAF aircraft flies over the area.
“It was also revealed that the terrorists hibernate within the location with bikes seen at different occasions carrying fertilizers to the warehouse. These fertilisers are used by the terrorists to produce Improvised Explosive Device(s) (IEDs).”
An intelligence operative said NAF fighter jets were dispatched with the mission of ensuring total destruction of the warehouse and annihilation of the terrorists.
According to a news media, PRNigeria, the NAF spokesperson, Air Commodore Wap Maigida, confirmed the successful airstrikes, noting that their Air Component will continue to sustain the offensive operations against the Boko Haram elements.
He said that all NAF Operational Commanders, in keeping to the directive of the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, are making sure that terrorists and collaborators are denied any breathing space.
