People gather for the funeral of the victims of the military bombing in Sokoto State on December 25, 2024.
How 10 civilians were killed in Sokoto attack, by DHQ
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has said that the cause of the demise of 10 civilians following airstrikes on the bandits’ base in Sokoto, North-West Nigeria, was not deliberate.
Rather it blamed it on a “secondary explosion,” while reacting to the Sokoto State government’s statement recently that 10 villagers were killed and others injured after military strikes in the Silame Local Government Area of the state.
But the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, in a statement at the DHQ in Abuja on Friday, explained that the deaths and injuries were due to “secondary explosions” and not a direct result of the strikes.
Also read: Army Chief, Oluyede, arrives in Sokoto over new terror group
His words: “Now, I spoke about secondary explosions. Because one of the targets was a logistic base of the terrorists in the community.
“When I talk of a logistics base, I’m talking of armed caches and poles that were kept there.
“So, naturally, when the munition hits, there will be a secondary explosion arising from that which will generate other things flying in the air which was what led to the death of about 10 persons that was reported.
“The 10 persons reported were not hit directly by the air strikes.
“The people who were hit directly by the air strikes were the Lakurawa terrorist groups, and they were burned beyond recognition.”
Buba also said that the military confirmed that the strikes hit the target – the terrorist group.
“To make sure that those that we saw at that location were indeed terrorists – the Lakurawa terrorist group.
“And we did that by sending human intelligence to confirm and they got back to us and confirmed and it was thereafter that we carried out – a joint operation, a combined synchronized operation with the Air Force and ground forces,” he said.
“Air Force carried out precision strikes using precision munitions. After the strikes, the land component on the ground moved on the site, and what did they confirm? They confirmed that ‘Yes, the strikes hit the objective.’ That is that.”
Those killed in the airstrikes had been buried according to Islamic conditions.
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