The Nigerian military has dealt another blow to Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists, killing dozens of fighters in a series of intelligence-led airstrikes across Borno State.

The Nigerian Air Force, operating under the Northeast Joint Task Force and Operation Hadin Kai, carried out precision strikes against suspected terrorist concentrations in Monguno and Biu local government areas on Friday and Saturday nights.

According to the Acting Media Information Officer of Operation Hadin Kai, Capt. Mohammed Goni, the operations followed credible intelligence and confirmatory Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance missions that tracked the movement and concentration of suspected terrorists.

In the Aduwa axis of Monguno Local Government Area, an armed reconnaissance platform detected and tracked suspected terrorists before identifying a larger concentration within a settlement. Following the necessary operational procedures and authorisation, the military launched a precision strike on the target.

Battle Damage Assessment indicated that 16 terrorists were neutralised in two precision strikes. Surveillance later detected another group attempting to regroup away from the initial target location, prompting another air engagement that killed about 10 terrorists.

In a separate operation around Buratai in Biu Local Government Area, another group of suspected terrorists was tracked and engaged. The military said a precision strike successfully hit the target, killing about 10 more terrorists.

The latest operations were aimed at disrupting the movement, assembly and regrouping of terrorist fighters in the region. Operation Hadin Kai said the strikes demonstrated the growing effectiveness of its intelligence and surveillance capabilities in detecting and targeting terrorist movements before they could pose threats to troops and vulnerable communities.

The military added that the operations would further restrict the terrorists’ freedom of movement, disrupt their command and control structures and place additional pressure on their logistics and fighting formations across the Northeast.

The reported details indicate that 36 terrorists were killed, although the original headline stated 26.