The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has killed nine fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), including a senior commander, in a precision air strike in Borno State.
The operation was conducted on Saturday in the Sambisa Forest area following credible intelligence on the movement and activities of suspected terrorists.
The Director of Public Relations and Information, NAF Headquarters, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja.
According to Ejodame, the NAF deployed a Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) to conduct Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) over the area.
He said the aircraft tracked a group of terrorists moving towards a suspected hideout before NAF aircraft carried out a precision strike after positive identification of the target.
A subsequent battle damage assessment reportedly showed that the compound was heavily hit, with nine terrorists confirmed killed and several others wounded.
Among those killed was Abu Khalid Al Muhajir, identified by the NAF as a prominent ISWAP commander responsible for providing special security escorts to senior members of the terrorist group.
Ejodame said the commander’s death represented a significant setback for ISWAP, citing his reported knowledge of routes, terrain and tactical movements connecting major terrorist enclaves in Sambisa Forest and surrounding areas.
The NAF also said intelligence indicated that some of the fighters affected by the strike were linked to elements suspected of carrying out a recent ambush on Nigerian troops along the Bita-Yamtage axis in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State.
Ejodame said the operation demonstrated the increasing effectiveness of intelligence-driven air operations, combining persistent surveillance with precision strikes to identify and neutralise terrorist elements before they could regroup.
He added that the strike was expected to disrupt ISWAP’s leadership protection arrangements, movement of high-value personnel and coordination across its enclaves.
The NAF spokesman reaffirmed the service’s commitment to sustaining intelligence-led and precision air operations in coordination with ground forces to degrade terrorist capabilities and protect communities across the North-East.
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