Barely 24 hours after troops of Operation Hardin Kai (OPHK), a joint task force, killed a leader of Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), the Nigerian Army says its troops have killed another terror commander alongside 10 other terrorists in Sambisa forest, Borno State.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the troops of OPHK killed Julabib, an ISWAP commander, in the Gujba axis of the Timbuktu Triangle.
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The army said the killing of Julabib underscored the sustained pressure it was putting on the terrorist leadership structures in the region.
The latest killed terror leader
The spokesperson for OPHK, Sani Uba, in a statement on Sunday, identified the newly killed terror leader as Abu Khalid.
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He said Abu Khalid and the 10 other terrorists suspected to be either members of Boko Haram or ISWAP were killed during a coordinated night operation in Borno.
Mr Uba said Abu Khalid, who is believed to be the second-in-command of Boko Haram or ISWAP in the Sambisa forest, was killed during an offensive carried out around 11 p.m. at the Komala general area of Konduga Local Government Area.
The operation, he added, was conducted by troops of Sector 1 in collaboration with members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) under Operation Desert Sanity.
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According to Mr Uba, Abu Khalid was a key figure within the terrorist hierarchy, responsible for coordinating operations and logistics within the Sambisa axis.
Items recovered from the battlefield
Items recovered after the operation included five AK-47 rifles, magazines, several bicycles, assorted logistics and food supplies, as well as large quantities of medical consumables, said Mr Uba.
He added that there was no casualty recorded on the troops’ side.
The Joint Task Force said clearance operations are ongoing across the Sambisa Forest, Mandara Mountains, Timbuktu Triangle and other known strongholds of Boko Haram and ISWAP in the North-east.
