In the continued onslaught against terrorism in the North East, Nigerian Air Force pilots smoked out Boko Haram elements from their fortified bunkers deep inside Sambisa Forests at the weekend, a PRNigeria report said.

It quoted “competent security sources” as saying that the raids were part of efforts aimed at ensuring that the marching orders issued by President Muhammadu Buhari for the military to annihilate the deadly terrorists and their activities in the next three months is complied with.

“In series of videos obtained by PRNigeria, Alpha jets and attack helicopters were seen raining explosives on some targeted locations hidden under trees and open warehouses,” the report said, adding:

“Unlike the standard bunkers that are fortified chambers built below the ground with reinforced concrete, some of the fortifications destroyed by Nigerian Air Force were not set below the surface of the ground but were mostly covered by logs and tree trunks.

“The mission is being accomplished by the recent deployments of fighter jets and attack helicopters in the North-East.”

It quoted a senior fighter pilot as saying: “The Nigerian Air Force pilots are in high spirit as they even compete to fly the aircrafts to defend their fatherland in their aggressive and patriotic determinations to end the Boko Haram ‘rubbish’ as soon as possible.”

PRNigeria said it further gathered that the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Sadique Abubakar, had challenged NAF pilots to prove their worth by displaying their skills and expertise in combating enemies from the air.

“While addressing the pilots recently, Abubakar said the raid would be sustained consistently and aggressively until the insurgency was brought to an end in Nigeria,” the report said.

“The Air Force raids commenced after weeks of reconnaissance by surveillance aircraft in the mission area. The deployed F-7NI, Alpha jets and attack helicopters are intended to degrade the fighting capacity of the terrorists.”