16 ISWAP Commanders, foot soldiers meet end as NAF, Army troops bombard Borno forest

Not less than 16 commanders of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and an unspecified number of the fighters have been eliminated by troops of the Operation Hadin Kai of the Nigerian Army and its Air Component as well as Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), following a bombardment of their hideout in a forest in Damboa town in Borno State.

The Nigerian Army in a statement on its official X handle, said the bombardment of the terrorists’ location which took place in the early hours of Friday, was a
coordinated attack that repelled the insurgents who were planning to carry out attacks on the town and other locations.

The statement titled ‘Troops neutralize terrorists, recover arms and ammunition’, stated that apart from the terror commanders that were eliminated, sophisticated weapons including AK 47s were recovered from their hideout.

“In a decisive blow against terrorism, troops of Operation Hadin Kai, in conjunction with the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), have successfully engaged and neutralized several Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists in separate operations,” the statement said.

“Troops encountered terrorists attempting to loot food items from a broken-down civilian vehicle in Rann. The swift response of the troops resulted in the elimination of six terrorists and the recovery of some AK 47 rifles with ammunition.

“In a related development, troops of the Forward Operating Base (FOB) MOLAI, along with the CJTF, conducted a successful ambush at a terrorist crossing point near Komala, along the Maiduguri-Damboa road.

“The ambush resulted in the neutralization of some terrorists and the recovery of several motorcycles and IED materials intended for burial by the terrorists.

The main thrust of the terrorists was the brigade location in Damboa, where they attacked en masse. However, the troops responded decisively with heavy firepower, leading to a significant number of enemy casualties,” one of the sources said.

“At least 16 bodies of the terrorists were recovered after the exchange, with several others believed to have fled with gunshot wounds. Unfortunately, two soldiers paid the supreme price during the gun battle with the terrorists.

“While the troops were able to bring the situation under control, an explosion from one of the terrorists’ projectiles caused a fire at an ammunition storage facility, which caused impact to two structures. The fire was promptly contained.

“Pursuit operations are currently ongoing to track down fleeing terrorists, while clearance operations continue around the general area.”

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