Airstrikes Wound ISWAP Commander, Kill Four Fighters in Lake Chad
By Sabiu Abdullahi
Air operations by Nigerian military forces have reportedly killed four Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters and severely injured a senior commander in the Lake Chad area.
The operations were carried out under Operation HADIN KAI, according to intelligence sources cited by counter-insurgency publication Zagazola Makama.
One of the commanders injured in the attacks was identified as Ba Ari Hisbah, a senior figure in ISWAP’s police wing in the Lake Chad region.
Field assessments indicated that Hisbah suffered serious injuries to both legs after an airstrike near Arege on August 5.
The attack formed part of military aerial operations aimed at disrupting terrorist fighters and their logistics networks around the Lake Chad basin.
Sources said the strikes disrupted the activities and movements of the insurgents and forced some surviving fighters to leave the area.
In a separate air operation on Friday, troops reportedly killed Ba Usman Maidharaib, a 55-year-old ISWAP member who was described as one of the group’s longest-serving fishing tax collectors in the Lake Chad area.
Maidharaib was reportedly travelling with three other fighters on two motorcycles when the aircraft struck.
The intelligence report said the four fighters died in the attack, while both motorcycles were destroyed.
The death of Maidharaib is considered significant because of the role played by ISWAP’s fishing tax collectors in raising funds for the group across the Lake Chad region.
For several years, ISWAP has imposed illegal taxes, levies and other charges on fishing and other economic activities in communities around the Lake Chad islands.
According to the sources, the loss of a key revenue collector and disruption of movement routes could weaken the group’s ability to raise funds and maintain its operations.
Military sources said intelligence surveillance detected the movements of the fighters before the airstrikes were conducted.
They added that Operation HADIN KAI would sustain aerial interdiction operations alongside ground forces to restrict terrorist movements and target their logistics, command and control networks.
The Lake Chad area remains one of the major operational theatres in Nigeria’s counter-terrorism campaign, as security forces continue efforts to weaken ISWAP formations and their support networks across land and waterways.