The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has launched a fresh wave of precision airstrikes that dealt heavy blows to Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists and bandit networks across five states Borno, Kwara, Katsina, Zamfara, and Kaduna marking one of its most decisive operations in recent months.
The intensified offensive, carried out on November 9, 2025, forms part of ongoing joint missions under Operation HADIN KAI and Operation FANSAN YAMMA, aimed at dismantling terrorist and criminal strongholds across Nigeria’s northern corridor.
In Borno State, NAF air interdiction missions hit ISWAP enclaves in Shuwaram and Mallam Fatori with devastating accuracy. Guided by real-time Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) data, the airstrikes targeted insurgent gatherings, logistics depots, and weapons storage facilities around the Lake Chad Basin. The strikes resulted in multiple fatalities among the terrorists and the destruction of vital operational assets, significantly weakening ISWAP’s mobility and supply lines.
Simultaneous precision strikes in Kwara State also destroyed bandit camps in Garin Dandi and Chigogo, forcing surviving criminals to flee their hideouts. In Katsina State, NAF aircraft under Operation FANSAN YAMMA struck a notorious terrorist enclave on Zango Hill in Kankara Local Government Area, neutralising a top militant leader and his fighters after multiple attack passes guided by actionable intelligence.
Expanding its reach, NAF also conducted Armed Reconnaissance missions across Zamfara, Kebbi, and Kaduna States areas long considered critical transit corridors for armed groups. The missions covered settlements such as Kakihum, Dankolo, Kotonkoro, and Kuyello, where terrorists on motorcycles were detected and neutralised near Wam Hill in swift follow-up strikes.
According to the Director of Public Relations and Information at NAF Headquarters, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, the successful operations reflect the renewed operational tempo and intelligence-driven strategy being implemented under the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke.
He emphasised that the latest strikes demonstrate NAF’s “commitment to employing smarter, precision-based airpower to degrade insurgent networks, protect citizens, and enhance national security.”
The coordinated missions, spanning multiple theatres, underscore NAF’s growing capacity to project airpower effectively across vast and difficult terrains reaffirming its central role in Nigeria’s counterterrorism and counter-banditry efforts.