Troops of the Joint Task Force (North East), Operation Hadin Kai, have neutralised 16 ISWAP fighters and rescued 11 kidnapped victims during coordinated counter-offensives across parts of Borno State.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Media Information Officer of Operation Hadin Kai, Lt.-Col. Sani Uba, said the operations followed a failed midnight attack by ISWAP insurgents on the Forward Operating Base in Auno on Feb. 5. He said troops of Sector 1 repelled the attack with superior firepower.
Uba explained that troops, working in collaboration with local security volunteers, launched a follow-up offensive on Feb. 9 along the Komala axis in Konduga Local Government Area. The fleeing insurgents were pursued to the Gidan Kaji axis, where 16 were neutralised, while others escaped with gunshot wounds.
Items recovered during the operation included more than 20 bicycles, weapons and a cache of logistics supplies believed to support the group’s activities.
He added that troops also arrested suspected logistics suppliers allegedly transporting large quantities of drugs intended for the insurgents around the Bukarti axis.
In a separate operation, troops thwarted a kidnap attempt along the Buratai–Kamuya road after responding to suspicious movements. Two victims, Mallam Idris Adamu and Mallam Muhammadu Safiyanu, were rescued and reunited with their families.
Similarly, troops responding to a distress call along the Chibok–Damboa axis rescued nine other kidnapped victims on the same day.
The military said the operations reflect ongoing efforts to disrupt insurgent networks, cut off supply routes and enhance the safety of communities across the North East.