The Nigerian Air Force has insisted that its airstrike in Kaduna targeted a notorious terrorist hideout at Giwa local government area of Kaduna State.
The deputy director of Public Relations and Information Group, Captain Kabiru Ali, stated this while reacting to reports of alleged civilian casualties following the successful airstrike on a terrorist enclave in Giwa LGA of Kaduna State.
The NAF, however, ordered an investigation to determine the veracity of the claims and made the findings public.
He said that contrary to the allegations, the airstrike on the location was based on credible intelligence from numerous reliable sources and confirmatory surveillance of the target area before the strike.
“The said location has been notorious as a terrorist enclave for over two years, and the successful airstrike would no doubt go a long way in minimising banditry, kidnapping and similar attacks on innocent civilians in Kaduna State and environs,”.
Nevertheless, the NAF is not taking these allegations lightly, as its focus is always on achieving the desired operational objective without collateral damage. Accordingly, a thorough investigation is currently ongoing to ascertain the facts with a view to keeping the populace informed in due course. ”
Meanwhile, Councilor Abdullahi Ismail, representing the area affected by the Airstrike in Yadi Kidandan village of Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State, has described the area as a danger zone for bandits’ activities.
Hon. Ismail, who confirmed the Airstrike that killed several people, including children, described the area as an area with pronounced activities of bandits.
According to some other sources, the Airstrike disfigured most of the bodies at the mosque that was hit.
One of the community leaders, who pleaded for anonymity for fear of being attacked, said among the victims were children and farmers.
Corroborating the councillor, the source said, “The truth is that Yadin Kidandan is a danger zone because it’s under the control of bandits. The majority of the people there are either informants or bandits themselves. But some innocent villagers still live there because they have nowhere to go.
“So we understood that the people at the mosque, around 2 p.m. when the strike occurred, most of them died. It was crowded because there was a local market close to the mosque.,” he said.
Another villager in Kidandan, who identified himself as Malam, said the strike occurred at Jika da Kolo under Yadin Kidandan.
“Yes, it’s true that there was a strike by a plane on Friday at a mosque in Jika da Kolo village under Yadin Kidandan that claimed many lives, including a few from our village who went to their farms or to do business at the local market close to the mosque. Many people were killed, among them farmers and children who had gathered around the mosque”.
He said it was a loud sound that was heard by nearby villages, adding that family members of the victims went there and recognised their relatives for the funeral.
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