From Molly Kilete, Abuja
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ), has said its airstrike in Sokoto State on Christmas Day, targeted only the Lakurawa terrorists group and its logistics base, leading to secondary explosion that allegedly killed some villagers.
The Director, Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, who made this known, explained that the location was confirmed as a terrorist hideout and was struck with precision.
No civilian, according to him, was killed in the military airstrike.
Buba, at a media briefing on update on the airstrike in Sokoto, said: “The airstrike indeed hit logistic base of the terrorists, which led to secondary explosions and it was these secondary explosions that led to some casualties that was earlier reported.”.
He stated that prior to the operation on the 25th of December, 2024, there was confirmed and heightened terrorist activities in the area.
Buba explained that a sustained intelligence, surveillance, and recognizance were conducted for an extended period of time to confirm the presence of the terrorists hibernating there and to also make sure that those in that location were indeed terrorists.
He added that because of the painstaking measures, the operation, which should have taken place on an earlier date, had to be rescheduled to the 25th when that operation was conducted.
Buba said the operation was planned as a joint effort to leverage the air component’s precision strike capability and the land component’s ability of having the boots on the ground.