Sustain strikes on terrorists hideouts, Arewa Youths charge NAF

Arewa Youth Federation, has charged the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) to sustain airstrikes targeted at hideouts of ISWAP-Boko Haram fighters to overpower the remainder of the insurgents in the northeast.

The group in a statement by its President, Muhammad Matazu reacting to media reports that scores of Boko Haram-ISWAP terrorists were eliminated on Monday by Airstrikes from the Air Component while their gun trucks were also destroyed in a well-coordinated joint operation with the ground troops in Gubio, Borno State.

• PODCAST: How Internal Wranglings Threaten To Tear PDP Apart
• Kidnappers of Niger kids slash ransom demand to N50m

The report had quoted military intelligence sources indicating that at least four gun trucks belonging to the criminal elements were destroyed by airstrikes of a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) alpha jet while ground troops pursued and eliminated fleeing terrorists.

“Our investigation has revealed that the insurgents were killed on Monday after they were encountered the military jet, sent to provide close-air supports to ground forces at Gubio.

“We are completely satisfied with the vigour the NAF is prosecuting this war and hopeful that it is near an end. We herein call for sustained bombardment as information available to us shows that the terrorists are in disarray”, the statement noted.

Our checks points to the fact that the ground troops at Gubio were initially confronting the invading terrorists when the NAF jet on a different mission was instructed to provide reinforcement to the troop in the Gubio axis.

“The NAF alpha jet, on sighting the Boko Haram-ISWAP fighters fleeing towards Damasak in four-gun trucks, fired rockets on their convoy and subsequently immobilized the occupants.

“After the aerial bombardments, some terrorists who were trying to escape on feet, were neutralised by ground troops.

“Apart from the destroyed gun trucks, items recovered from the terrorists included sophisticated guns, ammunition, fragmental jackets, jerry cans, bags of Indian hemp, sexual enhancement pills and exercise book containing Arabic text on how to make bombs, ” the military source said.