Troops destroy speedboats and neutralise 30 terrorists on Lake Chad islands.

Troops destroy speedboats and neutralise 30 terrorists on Lake Chad islands.

By Tada Jutha, Maiduguri

Troops of the Northeast Joint Task Force, Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), have neutralised 30 Islamic State West Africa Province’s (ISWAP) terrorists on the Kaniram Island of Lake Chad in Borno State.

The ground troops also destroyed several speedboats belonging to the terrorists during offensive military operations conducted along the waterways of the lake between April 21 and 22, 2026.

OPHK Media Information Officer Lt-Col. Sani Uba said yesterday in Maiduguri that “the air component of the military operations delivered devastating precision air strikes that dismantled ISWAP terrorist logistics networks along the Lake Chad waterways and in the Kaniram Island axis of Northern Borno State.”

Regarding the destruction of boats, Uba revealed: “Acting on credible Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) inputs, OPHK air assets established a persistent overhead presence and confirmed the concentration of over 30 terrorist boats and associated terrorist elements coordinating movement and resupply activities.

“We carefully achieved our targeted validation and positive identification, ensuring high targeting fidelity before engaging with the terrorists.”

He explained that following deliberate confirmation in line with Rules of Engagement, OPHK executed well-coordinated precision strikes, which led to the destruction of several boats and disrupted their logistics hubs in the Lake Chad region.

The Information Officer noted that this has degraded their mobility and ability to sustain operations.

Besides neutralising the insurgent on the waterways, Uba stated, “The real-time ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) enabled rapid follow-on strikes on the fleeing and regrouping elements within nearby vegetation, leading to the neutralisation of more than 30 terrorists.”

“Surviving elements were observed escaping in disarray, reflecting a breakdown in their cohesion and command structure.”

In a related engagement with the terrorists at Sowolwolo in the Sambisa Forest axis, additional precision-guided strikes were conducted following target fidelity acquisition with partners.

According to him, the airstrike took out three terrorist gun trucks and neutralised more terrorists in the vicinity.

The Battle Damage Assessment (BDA), backed by information gathered after the strike, showed that the enemy suffered heavy losses, including signs of mass burials, particularly by ISWAP groups in the Mallam Fatori area.

These findings further underscored the scale of attrition inflicted. on the terrorists

Ground forces are currently exploiting the effects of these strikes to dominate adjoining areas and prevent any reconstitution by the fleeing elements.

These military operations highlight OPHK’s sustained offensive pressure and effective air–land integration in dismantling terrorist networks, degrading their capabilities, and denying them the freedom of action across the Joint Operations Area.

The Military High Command commended the troops for their impressive battle performance and urged the soldiers to sustain aggressive operations to dominate the battle space.