By Aina Akinjide, Abuja Bureau Chief
It was a bad day and heavy blow to the Islamic insurgent group, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) Thursday as five of its senior top field commanders met their Waterloo during fierce encounter with troops of the Nigerian Army fighting nearly a two decade long insurgency in the North Eastern zone of the country.
The five eliminated terrorist Commanders were part of the 50 terrorists killed when troops from Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) successfully repelled several coordinated attacks in Borno and Yobe states early Thursday morning.
According to military sources the
offensive was one of the most significant defeats the terrorist group has faced this year. A counter-insurgency expert, Zagazola Makama, corroborated the military encounter and the terrorists’ losses in a post on X.
The neutralised ISWAP 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 killed during simultaneous battles that erupted in Dikwa, Mafa, Gajibo, and Katarko.
Military sources informed the magazine that ISWAP fighters initiated the attacks from the neighbouring Republic of Cameroon region, while other terrorist elements converged from the Timbuktu Triangle, a well-known insurgent hideout.
The terrorists then attacked troops from various directions but were met with a fierce response from ground and air forces, resulting in over four hours of intense fighting.
In Dikwa, Gajibo, and Katarko, troops successfully repelled the attacks and inflicted heavy losses on the terrorists, while in Mafa, insurgents briefly infiltrated the area and set some vehicles ablaze before being overpowered.
Military sources indicated that the slain commanders were among ISWAP’s leading battlefield tacticians responsible for numerous previous attacks on military bases, ambushes on patrol convoys, and the deployment of drone-assisted improvised explosive devices (IIEDs).
Their deaths, counter insurgency experts opine, mark a significant setback for ISWAP’s command and operational capabilities in the North-East.
A source revealed that the five commanders coordinated the failed offensive from different fronts, utilizing rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), anti-aircraft weapons, and suicide units in an attempt to overwhelm troop positions.
“They met their end in a large-scale combined air and ground counter-offensive that resulted in the deaths of dozens of their fighters,” the source added.
The Joint Task Force North-East confirmed that a total of 62 terrorists were killed, while clearance and mop-up operations continued.
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