Nigerian Air Force Airstrikes Neutralise 35 Terrorists Near Cameroon Border.
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has delivered a significant blow to terrorist operations, killing at least 35 jihadist fighters in precision airstrikes near the Nigeria-Cameroon border. The operation, conducted in the early hours of Saturday, 23 August 2025, targeted militants massing in the Kumshe area of Borno State, who were plotting an attack on ground troops, according to NAF spokesperson Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame.
Acting on multiple intelligence reports, the NAF’s Air Component of Operation Hadin Kai executed successive strikes on four identified terrorist assembly points. The operation neutralised over 35 fighters, stabilised the situation for ground forces, and disrupted terrorist logistics and movement corridors along the volatile northeast border. Ejodame confirmed that communication was re-established with the threatened troops, who reported the situation in their area had been fully stabilised.
The airstrikes are part of Nigeria’s intensified military campaign against a resurgent Boko Haram and its splinter group, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), which have escalated attacks in the northeast. The region, bordering Cameroon, Chad, and Niger, has been a hotspot for insurgent activity, with the conflict claiming over 35,000 civilian lives and displacing more than two million people, according to United Nations estimates. The NAF’s latest operation underscores its commitment to providing close air support to ground forces while targeting insurgent strongholds in remote terrains.
Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, commended the aircrew for their professionalism, noting that the strikes reflect the NAF’s evolving strategy of leveraging air power to complement ground operations. Military analysts have highlighted the operation’s significance in disrupting cross-border terrorist networks, particularly along porous borders exploited for movement and supply chains. The United States recently approved a $346 million weapons sale to Nigeria, including bombs and munitions, to bolster its fight against insurgency, pending Congressional approval.
However, concerns persist about the accuracy of such airstrikes, with past incidents raising questions about civilian casualties. Human rights groups have called for greater scrutiny of military operations to ensure civilian protection, citing previous erroneous strikes in Nigeria’s northwest and northeast. The NAF has maintained that Saturday’s operation was based on credible intelligence and executed with precision to avoid collateral damage.
The successful airstrikes follow a series of counterterrorism victories this year, with the Nigerian military reporting nearly 600 insurgents neutralised in the northeast over the past eight months. Despite these gains, the resurgence of Boko Haram and ISWAP, coupled with banditry in the northwest, continues to challenge Nigeria’s security forces. Prominent Nigerians, including former ministers and activists, have raised alarms about “war-time levels of slaughter” in the country, urging the formation of a Presidential Task Force to address the escalating violence.
As Nigeria grapples with these multifaceted conflicts, the NAF’s operation near the Cameroon border marks a critical step in denying terrorists freedom of action and reinforcing national security efforts in the region.