Over 38 Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters were killed in a coordinated operation involving ground troops and the air component of Operation Hadin Kai by a military offensive against terrorists in North-East Nigeria.

The fighters were neutralised in the early hours of yesterday while attempting to attack the Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Mandaragirau, Sector 2.

The Media Information Officer of the Joint Military Task Force, Lt. Col. Sani Uba, who disclosed this in a statement, explained that the troops engaged the terrorists through well-coordinated ambushes and a deliberate offensive-defensive response, forcing them into a disorderly withdrawal.

The military spokesperson added that the Air Component of Operation Hadin Kai provided close air support as well as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) feedback to enhance targeted kinetic operations.

He said: “Subsequent exploitation along the terrorists’ withdrawal routes inflicted further heavy losses.

“A total of about 38 terrorists were neutralised with eight bodies recovered so far within the immediate engagement area and human intelligence from locals confirming over 30 additional terrorists’ bodies and weapons strewn along Garin Mallum–Garin Gajere axis into the Timbuktu Triangle.