Military says 44 fighters killed in Borno operations, 15 more in Marte air strike
- Operation Hadin Kai says troops killed 44 suspected Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters in Kukawa and Lake Chad operations.
- A separate air strike near Kerenoa in Marte killed 15 fighters, including two named ISWAP commanders, the military says.
- The military says the strikes destroyed vehicles, motorcycles and materials used for making roadside bombs.
The military says its troops and aircraft killed dozens of suspected Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters in Borno State this week, in a series of operations across the North East.
Captain Mohammed Goni, acting media information officer for the Joint Task Force North East, Operation Hadin Kai, announced the figures in a statement on Thursday morning.
According to the statement, troops killed 28 suspected fighters in Kukawa Local Government Area on 26 October, with six others reported injured. The operations followed intelligence reports and surveillance, the military said.
Two days later, on 28 October, the naval component based in Baga carried out operations in the Lake Chad area. The military said eight fighters were killed and 10 injured.
A separate air strike that day hit what the military described as a team laying improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Eight operatives were killed and their vehicle, motorcycles and IED materials destroyed, according to the statement.
That brings the total announced for those operations to 44 killed.
Second strike in Marte
In a separate statement, also issued by Captain Goni, the military said an air strike near Kerenoa, north of Marte, killed 15 fighters, among them two ISWAP commanders named as Abu Musanna and Hassan Abu Huraira.
The strike came at about 9:20 p.m. on 28 October, after surveillance aircraft tracked two suspected fighters on a motorcycle to a makeshift structure under a tree, the statement said. More fighters were later seen around the site.
The military said a fire that broke out after the strike suggested the structure may have been used to store materials for making IEDs. It said the ISWAP leader for the area, known as the Wali, was critically injured.
Both accounts were reported by Vanguard, Punch, Daily Post and Sahara Reporters, which said the Marte statement was obtained by conflict reporter Zagazola Makama.
Why it matters
Roadside bombs and ambushes remain a danger on roads across Borno and the Lake Chad basin, where farmers, traders and travellers move between towns. The military says the operations were meant to cut fighters' freedom of movement and protect communities.
The figures come from the military's own battle damage assessments. Independent confirmation of the tolls was not available, and the military did not name a civilian casualty figure.
The command again asked residents to pass credible information to security agencies.
What happens next: The military says it will keep up intelligence-led operations across the North East. Residents in Borno and the Lake Chad area should expect more troop and air activity in the coming days.
