Nigeria-US Joint Airstrikes Kill 175 Terrorists
LAGOS (Nigeria), May 20 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- Nigeria's military announced that joint operations conducted with the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) killed at least 175 terrorists linked to Boko Haram and Daesh, including senior commanders, in a series of coordinated strikes across the country's northeast, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported.
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ), in a statement on Tuesday, said the operations targeted insurgent enclaves and logistics hubs in the Lake Chad Basin, an area that has remained the epicentre of the country's insurgency for more than a decade.
The statement, made available to journalists by Director of Defence Information Maj Gen Samaila Uba, said the operations eliminated key commanders identified as Abu Bakr al-Mainuki and Abd-al Wahhab, who were described as senior figures within ISWAP's leadership and logistics structure.
The strikes also destroyed weapons caches, checkpoints and financial infrastructure used by the terrorists.
“Al-Minuki played a central role in ISIS (Daesh) external operations, including the coordination of terrorist financing, recruitment, logistics and attack planning targeting civilians,” he said.
He added that no American or Nigerian troops were killed during the missions. US officials also praised intelligence-sharing and coordination with Nigerian security agencies.
The latest announcement came days after US President Donald Trump declared that a separate joint mission had killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described by US officials as one of Daesh's top global operatives and a senior figure overseeing activities in West Africa and the Sahel.
Security analysts said the intensified cooperation signalled deeper US military engagement in West Africa amid growing concerns over the expansion of extremist groups across the Sahel region.
The operations also came amid renewed insurgent activity around the Lake Chad Basin. Earlier this month, troops under Operation Hadin Kai repelled an overnight ISWAP assault on a military formation in Goniri, Borno state, killing scores of terrorists.
Nigeria has battled Boko Haram and ISWAP insurgencies since 2009. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions across Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
Despite repeated military offensives, poverty, displacement, weak governance and limited state presence in remote communities continue to fuel recruitment by armed groups in the Lake Chad Basin.
-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU
