Twenty-one suspected Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters have been reportedly neutralised in Borno State in a joint air operation by the Nigerian Military under Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK) and the United States Africa Command, AFRICOM.
The airstrike was carried out on May 30 at a terrorist enclave in Arege, Kukawa Local Government Area on the basis of intelligence reports that the location was being used by insurgents.
Security analyst and counter-insurgency expert, Zagazola Makama, quoting military sources, said the operation was carried out following intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, which confirmed presence of ISWAP members in the area.
The strike targeted a camp that the sources said was used by the terrorists to plan and coordinate attacks across the Lake Chad region.
The operation reportedly killed 21 insurgents and significantly disrupted the group’s activities in the area.
Military sources said the mission is part of the ongoing security cooperation between Nigeria and the United States to dismantle terrorist networks, destroy insurgent hideouts and curtail their operational capacity in the North-East.
The operation was intelligence-driven and carefully planned to achieve maximum effect against the targeted terrorists, they said.
The sources said the success of the strike also indicates the increasing cooperation between Nigerian security forces and international partners in the war against terrorism.
They were hopeful the operation would further erode insurgent activities around the Lake Chad Basin, where terrorist groups have continued efforts to regroup and launch attacks on vulnerable communities.
