Nigerian military airstrikes in the Lake Chad axis wounded a senior ISWAP commander and killed four fighters, disrupting the group’s revenue network.
Nigerian military airstrikes under Operation HADIN KAI have wounded a senior Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) commander and killed four fighters in the Lake Chad axis, in operations that also disrupted the group’s revenue collection network in the region.
The details were disclosed by intelligence sources speaking to Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency publication that covers security developments in the Lake Chad Basin.
ISWAP’s police wing commander severely wounded in Arege airstrike
According to field assessments reported by Zagazola Makama, Ba Ari Hisbah, identified as a prominent head of ISWAP’s police wing in the Lake Chad area, sustained severe injuries to both legs after an airstrike near Arege on August 5.
The strike was part of ongoing aerial operations targeting terrorist fighters and their logistics networks around the Lake Chad Basin. Intelligence sources said the operation disrupted the movement and activities of fighters in the area, forcing surviving members to withdraw.
Revenue collector killed in separate strike north of Kukawa
A separate air operation on Friday between Alayaru village and Limberi Market, north of Kukawa, killed Ba Usman Maidhraib, a 55-year-old ISWAP member described as one of the group’s oldest and longest-serving fishing tax collectors in the Lake Chad area.
Maidhraib was reportedly travelling with three other fighters on two motorcycles when they came under attack. According to the intelligence report, all four fighters were killed and both motorcycles were destroyed in the operation.
The killing of Maidhraib is considered significant by intelligence sources because of the central role of ISWAP’s fishing tax collection network in generating revenue for the group across the Lake Chad region.
ISWAP has for years imposed illegal taxes, levies and other forms of extortion on fishing and other economic activities in communities around the Lake Chad islands a financing model that has helped sustain its operations, pay fighters and acquire weapons and equipment. The destruction of a key revenue collector and the disruption of the group’s movement routes in the area, sources said, could further affect ISWAP’s ability to generate funds and maintain operational momentum.
Military vows to continue aerial interdiction missions
Military sources said the airstrikes were conducted after intelligence surveillance identified the movements of fighters in the targeted areas. They added that Operation HADIN KAI would continue aerial interdiction missions in coordination with ground troops to restrict the movement of terrorists and disrupt their logistics, command and control structures across land and maritime routes in the Lake Chad region.
The Lake Chad Basin remains a major theatre of counter-terrorism operations, with security forces maintaining sustained pressure on ISWAP formations and their support networks as part of the broader effort to degrade the group’s capacity to recruit, finance and conduct attacks across the region.
