***As 90 surrender with families
By Joy Baba-Yesufu
The Nigerian military said its troops killed
several terrorists leaders and scores of fighters, arrested 274 suspects and rescued 168 kidnapped victims.
The Director of Defence Media Operations,
Major General, Michael Onoja, stated this on Tuesday in Abuja, while giving update on the military operations in the country.
He added that the troops also facilitated the surrender of 90 insurgents and their families.
Onoja said the successes were achieved by the troops of Operation HADIN KAI during its unrelenting kinetic campaign against remnants of Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS) across Borno, Adamawa, Bauchi, Taraba, Yobe, and Gombe States.
He said operations during the first quarter were bolstered by aerial reconnaissance, air interdiction missions, and close air support, which targeted insurgent strongholds in remote and border regions.
“In a significant development bearing testament to the operational pressure exerted on the terrorist group, the ISWAP has confirmed the death of senior leader and Shura Council member Abu Yahya Al-Muhajir, describing it as a major loss to the group. This confirmation underscores the sustained effectiveness of AFN kinetic operations in degrading ISWAP’s command and leadership structure.”
He said in March 2026, troops neutralized scores of terrorists, arrested over 20 suspects, and rescued 24 kidnapped victims”.
“On 2 March 2026, troops neutralized top terrorists ring leaders; Saddam, Saleh Garin Kago, and Ba Alayi Benbem alongside over 18 ring leaders and 42 fighters in a precision air strike in Sambisa Forest. Troops repelled coordinated ISWAP attacks across Njimtilo, Baga, Buratai, and Damboa; the repulsion of a complex drone attack at Mallam Fatori, Abadam LGA yielded 74 terrorist corpses including senior leaders, along with 38 AK-47 rifles, 3 PKT machine guns, one RPG tube, and assorted ammunition.
“On 11 March 2026, over 20 terrorists including the high-value target Abu Yusu popularly known as Munzir of Dursula were neutralized at Goniri, Yobe State, in a multi-directional ISWAP night attack.”
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