Military, US joint operations kill 200 insurgents, top terror commanders in North-East —DHQ

Joint counter-terrorism operations between the Nigerian military and the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) have resulted in the elimination of several terrorist commanders and more than 200 insurgents in Nigeria’s North-East, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has disclosed.

Samaila Uba, Director of Defence Information, revealed this during an X Space discussion jointly hosted by the DHQ and the United States Africa Command on Tuesday to update Nigerians on the progress and outcomes of ongoing counter-terrorism collaboration between both countries.

According to Uba, the joint operations, which commenced earlier this year, have significantly enhanced intelligence-driven military actions against terrorist groups operating in the region, leading to the dismantling of terrorist networks, destruction of insurgent enclaves, and disruption of logistics infrastructure supporting their activities.

He explained that the partnership has also strengthened surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, enabling security forces to identify and neutralise threats more effectively.

“The partnership has also strengthened the operational readiness of Nigerian troops through specialised training programmes, intelligence-fusion initiatives, joint planning engagements, and professional military education,” Uba said.

He noted that the collaboration has provided critical support to ongoing military operations across the North-East and other operational theatres, contributing to a number of recent successes against insurgent groups.

While acknowledging the gains recorded, Uba stressed that the fight against terrorism remains a long-term commitment requiring sustained cooperation among stakeholders.

“While significant progress has been made, we recognise that the fight against terrorism is an ongoing effort.

“Enhanced cooperation, intelligence sharing, capacity building and public support remain critical. We remain confident in our collective ability to confront emerging threats and secure a more peaceful future,” he added.

The disclosure provides fresh insight into the scale of cooperation between Nigeria and the United States in tackling terrorism, particularly in regions affected by activities of Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

Rebecca Heyse, Director of Public Affairs at the United States Africa Command, reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to supporting Nigeria in addressing shared security challenges.

Heyse emphasised that the partnership is based on mutual agreement and respect for Nigeria’s sovereignty, stressing that all American activities in the country are conducted at the invitation of the Nigerian government.

“We are here at the invitation of the government of Nigeria, and our activities are agreed upon under the US-Nigeria joint working group framework.

“As long as there are shared security threats and the agreement of the joint working group framework continues to be of value to both of our countries, the US pledges our partnership.

“As we continue to share intelligence and we understand the terrorist activities within Nigeria, any time that we can take action in line with the joint working group framework, the US is committed to being a good partner, but we will always be in line with that joint working group framework”, she said.

In February, the United States deployed about 200 troops to Nigeria as part of ongoing security collaboration efforts.

The deployment followed renewed concerns over terrorist activities in parts of the country and came shortly after Nigeria was redesignated as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) by the administration of former US President Donald Trump.

The security partnership has already yielded notable operational outcomes. On December 25, US forces carried out air strikes on two terrorist enclaves located in the Bauni Forest area of Tangaza Local Government Area of Sokoto State.

More recently, in May, a joint Nigerian-US operation reportedly led to the killing of Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki, identified as the second-in-command of the Islamic State terrorist network, during a raid on his hideout in Borno State.