A joint airstrike operation conducted in Borno State has dealt a significant blow to global terror networks operating within the region.
Following a series of coordinated tactical maneuvers, U.S-Nigeria airstrike operations in Metele have neutralized more than 20 ISIS and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters in a fresh wave of aerial bombardments across Borno State.
The high-intensity strikes, which took place over the weekend, followed an aggressive counter-terrorism campaign spearheaded by the United States Africa Command (US-AFRICOM) and the Nigerian Armed Forces.
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) made this known in a press statement issued on Monday.
Samaila Uba, director of defence information at the DHQ, in a statement on Monday, said the strikes followed “observed convergence and migration of terrorist elements”.
“The ongoing operations follow the neutralisation of ISIS commander Abu-Bilal al-Minuki and are part of sustained efforts to disrupt terrorist networks, remove them from the battlefield and deny the terrorists any haven within Nigeria,” the statement reads.
“The Armed Forces of Nigeria will continue to aggressively defend the sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity of the nation.
“Terrorists who threaten our citizens, communities, and national stability will be located and defeated.
“There will be no haven for all terrorists anywhere in Nigeria.”
The United States Africa Command (US-Africom) confirmed the development on its website, stating that the “kinetic strikes against ISIS in Northeastern Nigeria” were carried out on Sunday in coordination with the Nigerian government.
“Intelligence confirmed the targets were ISIS militants. Complete assessments are ongoing. No U.S. or Nigerian forces were harmed,” US-Africom said.
“The removal of these terrorists diminishes the group’s capacity to plan attacks that threaten the safety and security of the U.S. and our partners.”
These continued strikes come after the U.S President Donald Trump announced that Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, ISIS’s second-in-command, had been killed in Nigeria last Friday.
Trump said al-Minuki was killed in a “complex mission” carried out by Nigerian and American troops.
The U.S president shared updates of the operation in a social media post in the wee hours of Saturday.
President Bola Tinubu has also announced the killing of Abu-Bilal Al-Manuki during a joint operation carried out by Nigerian and United States forces in the Lake Chad Basin.
In a statement personally signed on Saturday, Tinubu stated that the operation marked “a significant example of effective collaboration in the fight against terrorism” between the two countries.
The President said Nigerian troops, working with the US Armed Forces, carried out “a daring joint operation that dealt a heavy blow to the ranks of the Islamic State.”
This also comes after Trump designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) over religious persecution in the country.
However, the Nigerian government has strongly pushed back against the narrative of a faith-based cleansing. The administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu defended the nation’s security record, insisting that allegations of a Christian genocide in Nigeria do not reflect the complex socio-economic and security realities on the ground.
The development also comes amid renewed collaboration between Nigeria and the U.S government over efforts to tackle insecurity challenges.
