The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has neutralised more than 40 terrorists during coordinated close air support and air interdiction operations in Azir and Musarram communities of Damboa Local Government Area, Borno State. The operations were conducted on January 15 and 16 by the Air Component of Operation HADIN KAI, following actionable intelligence and in close coordination with ground troops.
According to a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by the Director of Public Relations and Information, NAF, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, NAF aircraft swiftly responded to a distress call from troops who were engaging terrorists retreating from Azir in the early hours of January 16. He said further aerial reconnaissance revealed the fighters attempting to regroup under tree cover, leading to precise and successive airstrikes that neutralised several of them.
Ejodame noted that post-strike assessments showed no remaining threats in the area, while feedback from ground forces, local authorities and community sources confirmed a significant reduction in terrorist activity and a return of relative calm.
He added that on January 15, NAF air assets also carried out a successful air interdiction mission in Musarram, within the Tumbuns general area, after intelligence reports indicated terrorists assembling on canoes to launch attacks along the Baga and Fish Dam axis. The aircraft reportedly sighted about 10 canoes carrying over 40 suspected terrorists, who were engaged in multiple attack passes, throwing them into disarray.
Reacting to the development, the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Aneke, reaffirmed the NAF’s commitment to sustained, intelligence-led air operations in support of ground forces, stressing that the strikes demonstrated the effectiveness of close air–ground coordination in denying terrorists freedom of action in known hotspots such as Azir and Musarram.
