Troops of the 19 Brigade, Sector 3 of Operation Hadin Kai, have repelled an attack by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in the Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State, killing the group’s cameraman during an attempted assault on Cross Kauwa.
A statement on Sunday by the acting spokesman for the operation in the North East, Mohammed Goni, said the attack occurred at 10:20 p.m on July 11, 2026 when the terrorists attempted to exploit the cover of darkness to breach the troops’ location.
Mr Goni said the troops swiftly detected the movement and responded with coordinated firepower, forcing the attackers to retreat after suffering heavy casualties.
He stated, “Alert troops swiftly detected the hostile movement and responded with coordinated and overwhelming firepower, compelling the terrorists to abandon their mission of looting cholera medical supplies and withdraw in confusion after suffering severe losses.”
The army stated that the attempted looting supported recent intelligence reports of a cholera outbreak within the ISWAP enclaves, including claims that some infected members of the group had been executed.
“The neutralisation of a terrorist cameraman during the failed assault led to the recovery of a Sony camcorder containing highly sensitive recordings of terrorist activities, including operational footage and propaganda materials,” Mr Goni said.
He said a preliminary forensic analysis of the last available video recorded before the attack indicated that the operation was coordinated by four senior ISWAP commanders, also known as Qai’ds, alongside three foreign terrorist facilitators.
According to him, the foreign terrorist facilitators included a Palestinian identified as Abu Ishaq, whom the military described as ISWAP’s overall trainer; a Moroccan identified as Abu Thaiba, said to be a medical doctor serving within the terrorist network; and another Arab operative whose identity has yet to be established.
Mr Goni said troops subsequently dominated the area and conducted follow-up exploitation operations to determine the extent of the terrorists’ losses.
He added that the troops recovered the Sony camcorder, several rounds of PKT and 7.62mm Special ammunition, terrorist uniforms and other combat items.
The spokesman added that an initial analysis of post-engagement satellite imagery indicated that the terrorists evacuated the bodies of some of their fighters during their withdrawal.
He stated that credible human intelligence sources also indicated that the group suffered heavy casualties, with many others sustaining gunshot wounds during the encounter.
“Two soldiers sustained gunshot wounds during the firefight and were promptly evacuated by air for advanced medical care. Both personnel remain in stable condition,” Mr Goni said.
