Nearly 600 Militants In Nigeria Died In Military Air Attacks For 8 Months

ILLUSTRATION OF UNSPLASH/Joshua Oluwagbemiga

JAKARTA - Nigerian military killed 592 armed militia members in northeastern Nigeria's Borno state, in the past eight months.

This comes after Nigerian military stepped up airstrikes in territory hit by violence over the years.

"This result exceeds the operational achievements recorded in 2024," said Air Force Chief of Staff Hasan Abubakar while visiting the Governor of Borno Babagana kebutuhanm on Tuesday.

Abubakar said the air force also destroyed more than 200 technical vehicles and 166 logistics centers in a massive attack on rebels in the northeast.

Militants from Boko Haram and its splinter group, the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), attacked security forces and civilians in northeastern Nigeria, causing widespread refuge and thousands of deaths.

Militant gangs in the State of Borno have killed 2,000 people since 2023, according to Nigeria Watch, a database that monitors the country's deadly and security conflicts.

"This year, our air warfare is faster, sharper and sharper," Abubakar said.

"We are destroying high-value targets, crippling logistics networks, and dismantling cells that threaten peace in the northeast," he continued.

Confidence MaHry, Senior Analyst at research consultant SBM Intelligence at Lagos, said it was difficult to independently verify how effective the air military operation was.

"However, the reality on the ground shows that claims of military success are insignificant compared to the acquisitions and successful attacks made by prominent Boko Haram factions in Borno since the updated ISWAP attack was launched in late 2024," he told Reuters.

Abubakar said the operation involved coordinated airstrikes day and night in key locations in the state, including Gonori, Rann, Dikwa, Damboa, Azir, and Mallam Fatori.

The operation was supported by the A-29 Super Tucano aircraft capable of carrying out precision and evening missions, Mi-171 helicopters for medical and logistical evacuation, as well as an upgraded surveillance platform for 24-hour target tracking.

The newly obtained Mi-35 fighter helicopter is expected to further strengthen close-range air support for ground forces, Abubakar said.

He said Nigerian Air Force aircraft flew 798 sudden attacks and recorded more than 1,500 hours of operational flight in Operation Hadin Kai, Nigeria's military counter-insurgency operation in the northeast.

This week, the military said it had killed a number of armed gang members in a joint air and land operation in northwestern Nigeria, after more than 400 of them were seen preparing to attack a village in the state.