The Air Task Force (ATF) in a joint military operation with troops of Operation Lafiya Dole has destroyed gun trucks, killing scores of terrorists at Gashigar, Borno state. The operations occurred on Sunday night, following troops’ reports that their based was being attacked by Boko Haram insurgents. In a statement of Air Commodore, Ibikunle Daramola, the Director Public Relation and Information, released on Sunday in Maiduguri, said that the ATF provided air support for ground troops to repel the insurgents. He said the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platform that was on a mission at another location was immediately redirected to Gashigar, border town with Niger Republic. He said that in reinforcing ground troops, a pair of Mi-35 helicopter gunships was scrambled to the attacked military base. On repulsion of insurgents, Daramola said: “Overhead Gashigar, the NAF ISR platform was joined by another from the Nigerien Air Force and were able to identify the location of the BHTs, in 13 Gun Trucks, as they advanced towards the camp from two different directions. “They subsequently directed the fire of the helicopter gunships and own ground troops support weapons towards the terrorists.” He said after the coordinated operations, the insurgents were forced to retreat from the camp, and attempted to regroup at a location outside the camp, but the gunships neutralised scores of insurgents. According to him; the gunships forced some insurgents to scamper into various directions, with sustained gunshot wounds. He said even after the operations, the ISR platform and helicopters had to remain within the location to provide necessary air support for ground troops. The support, according to him, was to stabilise the situation by neutralizing all forms of threats in Lake Chad region. “We will sustain the tempo of operations with a view to destroying all remnants of terrorists on fringes of Lake Chad and other areas in Northern Borno,” assured Daramola.
