By Chuks Oyema-Aziken
Troops of Operation Hadin Kai have successfully foiled coordinated attacks by ISWAP fighters in Limankara and Kukawa in Borno State, killing scores of insurgents and destroying their operational assets in fierce night-long engagements.
The Joint Task Force (North East) made this known in a statement issued by its Media Information Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Sani Uba, noting that the attacks were launched on February 20, 2026, amid intensified military offensives targeting terrorist hideouts and supply routes across the theatre.
In Limankara, terrorists attempted to breach the Forward Operating Base but were swiftly engaged by alert troops. Reinforcements, supported by the Air Component, delivered coordinated firepower that forced the attackers to retreat with reported casualties. The military said there were no losses on the side of its personnel during the encounter.
At Kukawa, insurgents riding on gun trucks and motorcycles, alongside foot soldiers, carried out a multi-directional assault from the Alagarno and Jemmu axes. Troops responded with sustained resistance, backed by precision air strikes that destroyed a gun truck and killed several fighters.
Additional aerial bombardments targeted fleeing terrorists on motorcycles, neutralising more combatants.
Subsequent exploitation operations led to the recovery of 13 AK-47 rifles, 16 loaded magazines, three communication radios, and other combat equipment. Troops also discovered stretchers, shallow graves, and blood trails, indicating further enemy casualties.
However, the military confirmed that one soldier lost his life in the line of duty, while injured personnel were evacuated and are responding to treatment.
In a separate but related operation, Sector 2 troops under Operation Desert Sanity V carried out an intelligence-driven raid on Lamusheri Village in Gujba Local Government Area, identified as a major terrorist logistics base.
Fifteen insurgents were neutralised, and several structures and vehicles used for attacks were destroyed.
The Military High Command praised the troops for their resilience and operational effectiveness, urging them to maintain the tempo of coordinated land and air offensives aimed at dismantling terrorist capabilities across the North East.
