Army intensifies offensives, records gains against ISWAP, Boko Haram in North-East Gains

The Nigerian Army, under Operation Hadin Kai, has achieved major gains in the North-East insurgency, by intensifying offensives against key leaders and strongholds of ISWAP and Boko Haram.

Maj.-Gen Abulsalam Abubakar, the Theatre Commander, North East Joint Task Force Operation Hadin Kai disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Maiduguri on Friday.

Abubakar said that in spite of recent attacks and losses, troops of Operation Hadin Kai were steadily tightening the noose on insurgent groups, and gradually reshaping conflict across the North-East.

He said that the Nigerian Army, and its Air Force component under Operation Hadin Kai, had sustained offensives targeting key leadership figures and strongholds of the Islamic State of the West African Province and Boko Haram.

He added that recent operations had focused on dismantling insurgent command structures, disrupting logistics networks, and denying terrorists freedom of movement across critical corridors in Borno.

Abubakar said that among the most notable breakthroughs was the neutralisation of Modu Kundiri, a top ISWAP commander and Qa’id of the Pulka axis in Gwoza Local Government Area.

According to him, Kundiri was eliminated during a coordinated ground operation along the Madagali–Gwoza axis, a strategic route linking the Sambisa Forest and the Mandara Mountains.

He noted that his death had triggered leadership uncertainty within the ISWAP ranks, disrupting command and control structures in the area.

The theatre commander also explained that in Kukawa Local Government Area, troops eliminated Malam Bako Gorgore (Abou Mustapha), a senior member of ISWAP’s Shura Council, responsible for high-level operational planning, recruitment and ideological direction.

He said airstrikes in the Yuwe axis of Sambisa Forest also took out several high-value commanders, including Saddam, Saleh Garin Kago, Hussaini Ubaida and Ba Alayi Benbem.

He added that further compounding insurgent losses, internal crises within ISWAP had led to the deaths of Abu Kasim, reportedly killed by an improvised explosive device planted by rival elements while one other Abu Nazir was eliminated during internal purges linked to factional disputes.

“Complementing ground offensives is the decisive role of the Air Component of Operation Hadin Kai.

“In multiple intelligence-led missions, air assets have destroyed command centres and logistics hubs, neutralised clusters of insurgents in Sambisa Forest, intercepted and eliminated fleeing fighters along withdrawal routes.

“In the Ngoshe–Pulka corridor, rapid-response airstrikes neutralised more than 50 insurgents following a failed attack, demonstrating improved surveillance and strike coordination,” he said.

According to him, in one of the most significant engagements in recent weeks, troops repelled a major assault on a military formation in Malam Fatori, Abadam Local Government Area, killing 84 ISWAP terrorists, including senior commanders.

“The attackers, drawn largely from ISWAP elements, had deployed advanced tactics, including the use of armed drones.

“However, troops responded with coordinated ground fire and precision airstrikes, resulting in heavy casualties, recovery of weapons and explosives, as well as disruption of enemy maneuvers.”

Abubakar said that these were not random strikes as they were targeted operations aimed at dismantling the operational backbone of insurgency.

“In spite of the recent setbacks, troops have continued to hold ground, repel incursions, and extend operations deeper into the terrorists’ enclaves in Sambisa Forest, Timbuktu Triangle and other parts of the Lake Chad shores.

“While the security situation remains fluid, the sustained targeting of insurgent leadership, combined with precision airstrikes and improved battlefield coordination is in favour of our forces which has significantly redudce the operational capacity of insurgent groups,” Abubakar added.