Operation Hadin Kai’s Air Component carried out a number of successful airstrikes against terrorists from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in the Borno State region of Malam Fatori.

Several ISWAP militants were killed in the attack.

Zagazola Makama, a security analyst and counter-insurgency specialist in Lake Chad, stated that a sizable ISWAP militant group was discovered in the vicinity of Malam Fatori.

“Reconnaissance missions identified a number of vehicles and motorcycles purportedly being utilized for militant movements and logistics support by the terrorists,” the security publication stated.

However, military planes were used to engage these identified assets in a concerted operation that involved sophisticated surveillance and targeting capabilities.

Some cars and motorcycles were destroyed as the plane descended with surgical accuracy, creating a substantial loss of equipment for the terrorists.

“A series of explosions that echoed throughout the town, accompanied by thick clouds of smoke rising from the impact sites, are described in accounts from the area by impeccable sources.”

Numerous ISWAP members were killed in the operation, according to the publication, with estimates putting the number of casualties in the dozens.

The airstrikes in Malam Fatori were not a stand-alone operation, Makama said, but rather were a component of Operation Hadin Kai, a larger plan to restore security in northeastern Nigeria.

“Air superiority has proven crucial in these operations as ground forces, supported by the aerial campaign, have been actively engaging ISWAP elements.”