The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) responded with brute force following
A faction of Boko Haram led by Abu Musab al-Barnawi, is affiliated to ISIS and is now known as the Islamic State West Africa (ISWA).
On Monday, November 19, 2018, members of terrorist sect Boko Haram, stormed the 157 Task Force Battalion in Metele and killed over 100 soldiers.
According to an agency that dispenses information on behalf of the federal government of Nigeria, the latest air-strikes from NAF in the wake of the Metele attack, destroyed a convoy of vehicles linked to the Boko Haram fighters who wreaked havoc and deaths on the military base.
Boko Haram reportedly used rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns and AK47 rifles to raid the base before destroying a slew of armored vehicles and killing every army officer in sight.
NAF used high precision weaponry
PRNigeria reports that “the air force deployed the Mi-35M, multi-role combat helicopters which delivers a more superior flight performance with high-precision weaponry in destroying ground targets.
“Meanwhile, the aircraft also crossed the border into a neighboring country in hot pursuits where terrorists and stolen armored vehicles were destroyed.
“The air-strikes took place in Tumbun Rego, Kangarwa and Mainok. There were also similar attacks hours after Sunday’s attack. We expect the Nigerian air force to release air strike footage soon.”
The attackers spoke in foreign accents and languages
PRNigeria also reports that the terrorists who attacked the military base in Metele were foreigners. The agency said it received this bit of information from some of the soldiers who survived the onslaught.
One intelligence officer told PRNigeria on condition of anonymity that the attackers communicated in Arabic, French and other foreign languages and spoke in foreign accents.
PRNigeria quotes the officer as saying: “Some of our soldiers who escaped after the rescue operation told us that the attackers dressed in military camouflage similar to the one worn by member countries of Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF).
“We learned that the attackers were not Nigerians as they spoke in Arabic, French and other strange languages when they first appeared like friendly force before they started to shoot at Nigerian troops.
“There is heightened suspicion that the deadliest attacks could not have taken place without collaborators probably within the military camp or the host community who could have been communicating with the terrorists before and after they stormed the locations.
“The military may likely engage in a tactical maneuver for forceful reinforcements of ground troops and air components in the affected areas in view of new developments.”
Army confirms attack, offers no death toll
After a week of intense social media rage, the Nigerian army admitted that the attack on one of its bases did take place, while disputing casualty figures reported by various online media platforms.
The Nigerian army provided no death toll of its own.
President Muhammadu Buhari also broke his silence a week after the massacre, saying the attack had left himin a state of deep shock.
“No responsible Commander-in-Chief would rest on his oars or fold his hands to allow terrorists to endanger the lives of its military personnel and other citizens”, Buhari said in a statement.
Nigeria has been waging a war against Boko Haram since 2009. The terrorist sect is hell bent on establishing a hard-line Islamic caliphate in Northeastern Nigeria.
Boko Haram has killed more than 50,000 people while displacing millions, since the commencement of its insurgency against the State.
Some soldiers have lamented the obsolete equipment they have been handed to wage war against the terrorists.
The Buhari administration often claims that Boko Haram is now a spent force that has been sufficiently degraded and technically defeated, but the terrorist sect continues to mount soft target attacks, abduct school kids and overrun military bases.