Troops kill ISWAP Shura member in Yobe offensive

Troops kill ISWAP Shura member in Yobe offensive

By Tada Jutha, Maiduguri

Troops of Operation Hadin Kai have killed a senior commander of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), identified as Abu Jarir, during a coordinated military operation in Yobe State, security sources have said.

The operation, which involved both ground forces and air support, was carried out along the Babangida–Dapchi axis, a strategic corridor in the state.

Military sources told Premium Times-style reporting that the strike followed credible intelligence on the movement of the insurgent leader and his fighters within the area.

“It was around 6:12 p.m. on April 22 that our troops, acting on intelligence, engaged the terrorists in the Babangida general area and successfully neutralised Abu Jarir,” one of the sources said.

Abu Jarir was said to be a member of ISWAP’s Shura council, a top decision-making body within the group. His killing is considered a major blow to the insurgents’ leadership structure in the Lake Chad region, which covers parts of Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

Security officials also disclosed that ISWAP’s overall commander in the Lake Chad region, identified as Ba Shuwa, reportedly dispatched a search team to recover the body of the slain commander shortly after the incident.

The search party, according to the sources, was later sighted moving on motorcycles around the Aljanna Jaule area of Yobe State.

Military authorities have yet to issue an official statement on the operation.

However, sources said troops have continued exploitation operations across the Babangida–Dapchi axis and parts of the Sasawa Forest, as the military intensifies efforts to weaken insurgent networks in the North-east.

The Nigerian military has, in recent months, sustained pressure on ISWAP and Boko Haram factions through a combination of air strikes and ground offensives, targeting their hideouts and supply routes across the region.