Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports
Thirty terrorists working for one Halilu, a notorious bandit in the North West, were killed in Zamfara State by airstrikes by a Nigerian military fighter jet.
Halilu, a high-profile arms trafficker who is responsible for supplying arms to all other terrorists in Zamfara and Katsina states, is also known to operate in Zamfara around the Sububu, Anka (Bayan Daji), and Bayan Ruwa axis.
The notorious bandit is regarded as one of Zamfara’s wealthiest terrorists, and he is suspected of being responsible for several kidnappings, cattle rustling, and other terrorist activities.
The massacre of Halilu’s gang members was carried out in response to credible intelligence revealing that he (Halilu) had scheduled an early-morning meeting with some of his foot soldiers at his logistics base in the State’s Maradun Local Government Area.
According to a senior military officer, the intelligence also revealed the location and exact location of Halilu’s logistic base.
This is reportedly where he and his associates keep their ammunition, vehicles, motorcycles, and other ill-gotten gains.
“After days and weeks of sustained Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance missions over the two locations and verifying the intelligence to be credible, NAF aircraft were scrambled to strike the location of the meeting and the logistics base in the early hours of 21 October 2022,” he said.
“Both locations were thus struck simultaneously in several passes.” The pilots specifically observed a massive fireball after the strike on the logistics base, indicating that the location may have contained some flammable substance.
“According to the Battle Damage Assessment, the meeting location and the logistic base would be destroyed.” Locals confirmed that several terrorists were killed as a result of the air strike on the meeting location, though it is unclear whether Halilu was also killed in the strikes.”
