Airstrikes conducted by the Air component of Operation Hadarin Daji of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) on April 27, 2024, at Bello Turji’s camp in KAGARA forest located between Shinkafi in Zamfara and Isa Local Government Area in Sokoto, resulted in the killing of scores of fighters including three top bandit kingpins.
It was gathered that the Air strikes were conducted a few hours after the terrorists carried out a reprisal attack on a unit of the Civilian Joint Task Force at Forward Operating Base ISA, in response to the killing of seven bandits and recovery of seven AK47 rifles, 4x motorcycles and other items.
Eight Civilian Joint Task Force paid the supreme price during a gun battle with the bandits.
Intelligence sources told Zagazola Makama, a Counter Insurgency Expert and Security Analyst, in the Lake Chad region that acting on intelligence on the withdrawal of the attackers towards the axis of Shinkafi, the Air component immediately dispatched aircraft to track down the terrorists.
Sources said that the terrorists were trailed to Kagara Forest under a Mango tree between Shinkafi and Isa. Consequently, NAF aircraft attacked the camp in multiple waves, leading to the instant obliteration of scores of the terrorists.
The fleeing bandits were intercepted and mopped up by the ground troops in an ambush at Makwaruwa village in Sabon Birni of ISA lGA.
Battle damage assessment indicated that some top bandits like Kachallah Uban Daba, Dan Jangeru and Dogo Na Hants, while 13 bandits sustained various degrees of injuries. Notorious bandit, Bello Turji reportedly escaped the attack.
It was gathered that the wounded bandits were sneaked into Kagara under ISA and receiving treatment in a Primary school.
The sources said that shortly after the killing Bello Turji’s fighters, the surviving angry fighters stormed Rijiya Malladan and Harin Shalla in ISA where they set the village in flames and destroyed food items. They were, however, pushed back by the Joint troops of Operation Hadarin Daji in collaboration with government backed militia, otherwise known as Yan sa Kai.
The preceding week has no doubt been eventful, especially for Operation Hadarin Daji (OPHD) in Northwest Nigeria. Alongside the Land Component and other security agencies, aircraft under these operational theatres have ensured that terrorist, insurgents and other criminal elements operating in the regions do not constitute significant security threats to innocent citizens within the regions.
