The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) platform of the Northeast Joint Task Force (JTF), and Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) has killed 36 Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists in Monguno and Biu local government areas of Borno State.

The Acting Media Information Officer of Operation Hadin Kai, Capt. Mohammed Goni, disclosed this in a statement, saying the air platforms conducted a series of intelligence-led precision strikes on terrorist concentrations in different locations on Friday and Saturday nights.

Goni said the coordinated air operations followed credible intelligence and confirmatory Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions that identified the movements and concentrations of suspected terrorists.

He said the airstrikes degraded the identified targets and disrupted attempts by the terrorists to assemble, regroup and operate freely within the theatre.


“In one of the operations, an armed reconnaissance platform detected and tracked suspected terrorists around the Aduwa axis in Monguno LGA before identifying a larger concentration within a settlement.

“Following appropriate operational procedures and authorisation, a precision strike was conducted against the identified target,” he said.

According to Goni, subsequent Battle Damage Assessment indicated that 16 terrorists were neutralised in two precision strikes.


He added that the platform continued surveillance of the area and later detected another group of terrorists attempting to regroup away from the initial target location.

“Another precision engagement was conducted, with subsequent assessment indicating that the identified group of about 10 terrorists had also been successfully engaged,” he said.

In a separate operation around Buratai in Biu LGA, Goni said another Operation Hadin Kai air platform tracked a group of suspected terrorists gathered at a location in the area.

He said that following sustained surveillance and the requisite authorisation, the platform conducted a precision strike that successfully hit the identified target, killing about 10 other terrorists.

Goni said the operations underscored the growing effectiveness of Operation Hadin Kai‘s integrated ISR capabilities in detecting and disrupting terrorist movements before they could develop into threats against troops and vulnerable communities.

He added that the operations demonstrated that attempts by terrorist elements to conceal their movements, disperse into smaller groups or exploit remote locations could not guarantee freedom from detection.

The military said the operations in the Lake Chad region were expected to further restrict terrorist freedom of action, disrupt their command and control, and place additional pressure on their logistics and fighting formations.

Goni said the strikes formed part of a broader campaign by Operation Hadin Kai to degrade terrorist capabilities while creating a more secure environment for communities across the Northeast.