Military authorities said yesterday that 100 notorious commanders and fighters of the terrorist group, Boko Haram, were killed by joint military operations involving air and ground components.
Some of the top commanders included Khalid Tukur, Maimusari and Bakura Jega, the military said.
The operations came as Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Faruk Yahaya, and his counterpart, Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, arrived Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, weekend, to celebrate the Yuletide with frontline troops.
The insurgents were eliminated at Mantari in Gezuwa area of Bama Local Government Area of Borno State alongside 75 other terrorists.
A military update issued by the spokesman of the Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, said the operations, which resulted in the killing of the terrorists, were conducted jointly.
Gabkwet stated, “The airstrikes by our NAF aircraft was authorized after it was revealed that a Boko Haram terror commander, simply known as Ikirima, had stationed his fighters and gun trucks at Mantari village alongside other terrorists from other locations, who had converged at the same location, on motorcycles and bicycles.
“Subsequently, the authorization for an air strike was given, leading to the elimination of several of the terrorists and structures in the area.”
