The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) conducted a precision airstrike on a terrorist enclave in Kangarwa, located in the Northern Tumbuns area of Nigeria's North-East region, on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, at approximately 1205 hours. The operation, carried out under the Air Component of Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK), resulted in the destruction of the hideout and the deaths of numerous terrorists. Air Cdre Ehimen Ejodame, NAF spokesman, confirmed the mission in a statement, describing it as a targeted response to ongoing insurgent activities in the area. The military has not provided an exact number of casualties but used the term "scores" to describe the number of terrorists neutralized. No civilian casualties were reported from the operation. The enclave had served as a logistics and planning hub for insurgent attacks in the region.
Destroying a hideout in Kangarwa does not mean the insurgency is shrinking—Air Cdre Ehimen Ejodame's announcement of "scores" killed is vague and offers no metric for progress. The same terrain keeps yielding new enclaves because ground troops rarely hold cleared areas. If air power remains the main strategy, this war will keep looping.
