The Defence Headquarters has said that the drone attack on Ligarma community in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Sunday, was based on information about untoward activities of terrorists in the area.
A statement today, December 5, by the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major-General Edward Buba, said that the Nigerian Army Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) detachment had at about 2200 hours on Sunday, observed movement of terrorists at Ligarma, known to be a terrorist-infested area of Kaduna State.
It added that the aerial surveillance captured movement of groups of persons synonymous with the terrorist tactics and modus operandi.
The statement said that the observed advance of the terrorists that were gathered posed a threat to key infrastructure within reach of their activities.
It said that the threat was eliminated to prevent the terrorists from unleashing terror on innocent civilians.
“It should be noted that terrorists often deliberately embed themselves within civilian centres for the civilian population to bear the consequences of their atrocities.”
It stressed that terrorists often disguise themselves as civilians to perpetrate terror as part of their tactics.
“Nevertheless, the Nigerian military does its best at all times to distinguish between civilians and terrorists.
“The military views every civilian death in the course of operations as a tragedy as such tragedies are needless and unwanted, which causes the armed forces to take extensive measures to avoid them.” The statement said that one such measure taken by the military is to continually give precise instructions to communities.
“For instance, communities are to always alert troops of their activities particularly when such a community is known to be infested with terrorists and their sympathisers.
“These instructions are intended at enabling the military to distinguish between friendly and untoward activities.”
It stressed that the armed forces would continue to operate in line with international laws and would also continue its determined and cautious progress in eradicating terrorists from the land.
It said that the military would continue to find innovative solutions to the challenges faced in the conduct of its operations.
