The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) executed two precision Air Interdiction (AI) missions in Zamfara State, targeting notorious bandit hideouts and degraded their operational capabilities.
The strikes were carried out on December 28, 2025, at Turba Hill and Kachalla Dogo Sule’s Camp, both located in Tsafe Local Government Area.
According to Ehimen Ejodame, Director of Public Relations and Information for the NAF, the air assets were deployed following multiple-source intelligence that identified the bandits’ enclaves as key operational hubs.
NAF stated that the strike on Kachalla Dogo Sule’s Camp, a notorious bandit stronghold, targeted an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) manufacturing and operational center.
“Intelligence had linked the camp to the planning and execution of recent IED attacks along the Dan Sadau–Magami axis.
“The precision strike successfully engaged multiple active structures within the enclave, triggering intense fires that destroyed the facilities and neutralised several bandits, effectively crippling the group’s IED production and deployment capability”, the statement noted.
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According to the Force, the second strike targeted Turba Hill, a confirmed bandit hideout. Persistent surveillance and reconnaissance revealed significant human activity and an operational zinc-roofed structure considered central to the enclave’s operations.
The NAF said it engaged the target with precision, resulting in the destruction of the structure and the neutralisation of several bandits, according to Ejodame.
It described the operations as a significant setback for bandit networks in Zamfara State, particularly their ability to manufacture and deploy IEDs.
“These decisive air strikes reaffirm the Nigerian Air Force’s unwavering commitment, in close coordination with other components of Operation Fansan Yamma, to deny criminal elements safe havens, degrade their combat effectiveness, and support ongoing joint efforts to restore lasting peace and security across the North-West and the nation at large,” the statement added.
“The missions form part of the Air Component of Operation Fansan Yamma, Sector 2, as the military sustains its offensive against armed banditry in the state”, NAF said.
It further noted that these operations follow a similar precision AI mission conducted on December 14, 2025, at Dabar Masara in the Southern Tumbuns–Lake Islands axis, where key terrorist logistics were destroyed and several terrorists neutralised.
“That operation also relied on credible intelligence indicating the presence of a terrorist workshop and sustained movement of armed elements”, it said.
The NAF has consistently emphasized the use of intelligence-driven precision strikes as a key strategy to disrupt criminal and terrorist networks, limit civilian exposure, and restore security in volatile regions.
