Five ISWAP commanders killed by Nigerian troops in Borno identified

Five senior field commanders of the Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP, have been confirmed as among 50 terrorists killed as troops of Operation Hadin Kai, OPHK, repelled multiple coordinated attacks across Borno and Yobe states.

This was made known on Thursday in a post on X by Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency expert.

Makama stated that military sources described the offensive as one of the heaviest defeats suffered by the insurgent group this year.

The slain commanders were identified as Ari Kolo (Munzir Abbagajiri), Ya Muhammad (from Dosula), Abu Aisha (from Abba Gajiri), Hamzalah (Qaid at Gambo Gege and Faruk villages), and Abu Rijal (from Dosula). They were neutralised during simultaneous battles that erupted in Dikwa, Mafa, Gajibo and Katarko in the early hours of Thursday.

Makama stated that intelligence reports indicated that ISWAP fighters launched the attacks from the Cameroon axis, while other elements converged from the Timbuktu Triangle, a notorious insurgent hideout.

The terrorists reportedly attacked troops from multiple directions but were met with a fierce response from ground and air components, leading to over four hours of intense fighting.

In Dikwa, Gajibo and Katarko, troops repelled the attacks and inflicted heavy losses on the terrorists, while in Mafa, insurgents briefly infiltrated the location and set some vehicles ablaze before being overpowered.

According to military intelligence, the slain commanders were among ISWAP’s top battlefield tacticians responsible for several past attacks on military bases, ambushes on patrol convoys, and the use of drone-assisted improvised explosive devices, IIEDs.

Their deaths, officials said, mark a significant blow to ISWAP’s command and operational capacity in the North-East.

A source said the five commanders coordinated the failed offensive from different flanks, deploying rocket-propelled grenades, RPGs, anti-aircraft guns, and suicide units in a bid to overrun troop locations. “They met their end in a massive combined air and ground counter-assault that left dozens of their fighters dead,” the source added.

The Joint Task Force North-East confirmed that 62 terrorists were killed in total, while clearance and mop-up operations were ongoing.