The Nigerian military has intensified land and air operations in parts of the North following a threat by United States President Donald Trump to consider deploying American forces to Nigeria over alleged killings of Christians.
Trump, in a recent post on his Truth Social platform, said he had directed the U.S. Department of War to prepare for “possible action” if the alleged persecution continued.
Meanwhile, rival terrorist factions have engaged in violent clashes in the northern region.
More than 50 fighters were reportedly killed in a confrontation between Boko Haram (Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunna lid-Da‘wa wa’l-Jihād) and the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) over territorial control in Abadam Local Government Area of Borno State.
A video showed bloodied bodies floating in a canoe, with fighters chanting “Allahu Akbar,” suggesting that Boko Haram repelled the ISWAP attackers.
The clash happened hours after troops of the 135 Special Forces Battalion, Sector 2, Operation Hadin Kai, foiled a Boko Haram ambush on civilians in Dutse Kura, rescuing 86 victims and arresting 29 suspected logistics suppliers.
In a separate operation at Mangada, troops arrested 29 suspected logistics suppliers heading to Chilaria with two pickup vans and a tricycle loaded with about 1,000 litres of petrol, engine oil, gun-truck tyres, medical supplies, and food items. No troop casualties were recorded.
In a related development, the Nigerian Air Force conducted precision airstrikes on terrorist and bandit hideouts in Kwara, Borno, Katsina, and other northern states.
Airstrikes in Borno targeted ISWAP elements in the Northern Tumbuns. Air assets, guided by real-time intelligence, struck locations around Shuwaram and Mallam Fatori, where terrorists were seen mobilising on motorcycles and boats along the Lake Chad Basin.
Simultaneously, NAF aircraft struck bandit camps in Garin Dandi and Chigogo in Kwara State and also carried out armed reconnaissance across Zamfara, Kebbi, and Kaduna States.
Air assets struck Zango Hill in Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State, targeting a terrorist kingpin and his fighters.
The PUNCH
