It's PluxTIME: 2017-07-09

Nigerian Air Force acquires five Super fighter planes from Pakistan

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
 <img alt="U.S. war plane intercepted by Russian jet" class="size-full wp-image-52726" height="388" src="http://18694-presscdn.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/U.S.-war-planes-fly-over-South-Korea-in-solidarity-with-its-ally-amid-tension-following-North-Koreas-nuclear-test-last-week.jpg" width="610" /><br />
<br />
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has taken delivery of five Super Mushsak
 fighter planes from Pakistan to enhance its air power capability.<br />

According to NAN, the Chief of Air Staff, 
Air Marshal, Sadiq Abubakar and members of the Senate and House of 
Representatives Committees on NAF inspected the war planes on Friday in 
Kaduna.<br />

Sadiq said the planes which would be unveiled later, were acquired 
for the training of air force personnel and to improve the air power of 
the Force.<br />

The air chief, who witnessed the graduation of 269 NAF special squad 
for the protection of critical national assets, said the service 
remained committed to safeguarding the territorial integrity of Nigeria.<br />

NAN also reports that the personnel went through the Basic Regiment Airmen
 Course and Force Protection in Complex Air Ground Environment Course at
 the NAF Regiment Training Centre, Kaduna.<br />

Abubakar challenged the personnel to remain committed to the Nigeria 
project, assuring them that the leadership of the force would transform 
the service for effective and efficient response to any security 
challenge.<br />

“Our engagement in different theatres of operation and the need to 
protect the limited resources available to undertake our statutory 
responsibilities of projecting air power, underscores the need to 
continually develop force protection capability of the service.<br />

“The training you have received on force protection in complex air 
ground environment will require you to speedily gain capacity to enable 
the service to locally develop and sustain additional workforce in the 
field of specialization,” he said.<br />

Abubakar commended the British Government for it continued support 
towards the capacity building of air personnel through the BMATT 
programme.<br />

“It is my desire that with time, we will extend the cooperation to other NAF missions.”<br />

The chief of air staff challenged the graduates to rededicate themselves and ensure excellence in the discharge of their duties.<br />

He admonished them to always allow their actions to be guided by respect for the rule of law and rights and dignity of citizens.<br />

Abubakar pledged that NAF would meet its social contract with the 
Nigerian people, even as it takes on more responsibilities.</div>

Nigerian Air Force acquires five Super fighter planes from Pakistan

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has taken delivery of five Super Mushsak fighter planes from Pakistan to enhance its air power capability...

U S kills the leader of ISIS Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in an air strike

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span><img alt="U.S. weakens ISIS, kills leader Abu Sayed " class="size-full wp-image-74636" height="354" src="http://18694-presscdn.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/U.S.-weakens-ISIS-kills-leader-Abu-Sayed.jpg" width="630" /><br />
<br />
The U.S. has said that its forces have killed Abu Sayed, the leader 
of ISIS-Khorasan, the terror group’s affiliate in Afghanistan.<br />

The news comes days after ISIS admitted its 45-year-old leader Abu 
Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in an air strike in the Iraqi province of 
Nineveh.<br />

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana White said in a statement said Sayed
 was killed “in a strike on the group’s headquarters in Kunar Province 
on July 11.<br />

U.S. Navy Captain Bill Salvin, spokesman for U.S. Forces Afghanistan 
who provided additional detail of how Abu Sayed was killed said he was 
killed in an airstrike by a U.S. drone.<br />

The initial Pentagon statement noted that Sayed was killed in a “raid”.<br />

Secretary of Defense James Mattis told reporters that the death of 
Sayed “sets them back for a day a week, a month, it’s about who he is 
and what kind of people are below them.<br />

It is obviously a victory on our side in terms of setting them back, it’s the right direction.”<br />

Gen. John Nicholson, Commander, U.S. Forces Afghanistan said in a 
statement, “This operation is another success in our campaign to defeat 
ISIS-K in Afghanistan in 2017.<br />

Abu Sayed is the third ISIS-K emir we have killed in the last year 
and we will continue until they are annihilated. There is no safe haven 
for ISIS-K in Afghanistan.”<br />

It would be recalled that Hafiz Sayed Khan was killed in July 2016 
and another emir Abdul Hasib was killed during a joint U.S.-Afghan 
commando raid in April.<br />

April’s raid also resulted in the deaths of several other high 
ranking leaders of ISIS-K, the terror group’s regional branch, and 35 
ISIS fighters.<br />

However, two American soldiers died in the attack.<br />

The presence of Sayed in Kunar is noteworthy; the other two leaders 
were killed in neighbouring Nangarhar province the terror organisation’s
 traditional powerbase.<br />

Afghan and U.S. forces launched a counter ISIS-K offensive in early 
March 2017 and Gen. John Nicholson, the commander of U.S. and NATO 
troops in Afghanistan, has pledged to drive the terror group out of 
Afghanistan by the end of 2017.<br />