OPHK drone strikes kill over 20 ISWAP fighters in Lake Chad

…destroy logistics hub

By Ndahi Marama, Maiduguri

Fresh battle damage assessment (BDA) from Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK) has confirmed that more than 20 ISWAP fighters were neutralised in a precision drone strike conducted by the Air Component of the operation at Kila Bariya in the Southern Lake Chad axis.

Intelligence sources said that the precision strike, carried out on July 21, targeted a key terrorist logistics and assembly point following credible intelligence on the presence of fighters and strategic supplies in the area.

According to the latest assessment, several other terrorists sustained severe injuries, while over 30 newly acquired motorcycles, most of them brand new and intended for future terrorist operations, were destroyed in the strike.

The assessment further revealed that the operation destroyed a major ISWAP food storage facility stocked with large quantities of beans and other food items allegedly confiscated or forcibly collected from farming communities across the Southern Lake Chad region.

Military sources described the strike as one of the most significant precision engagements in recent weeks, noting that it dealt a major blow to the group’s mobility, logistics and sustainment capability.

“The destruction of the motorcycles will significantly reduce the terrorists’ ability to conduct rapid raids and reinforcement across the difficult Lake Chad terrain, while the loss of the food stockpile will further degrade their capacity to sustain prolonged operations,” a senior military source said.

It is believed the successful strike is expected to alter the operational dynamics in the Southern Lake Chad axis, particularly around Marte, Ngala and Dikwa Local Government Areas, where ISWAP has continued efforts to regroup and project influence.

The Nigerian military has sustained an aggressive air campaign under Operation HADIN KAI, combining precision intelligence, persistent surveillance and targeted strikes against terrorist enclaves to deny insurgents freedom of movement and disrupt their command, logistics and operational networks.

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