Nigerian military, US kill 21 ISWAP fighters in Borno airstrike

A coordinated air operation involving Nigerian military forces and U.S. support has reportedly killed 21 fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in Borno State, marking a major step in ongoing counterterrorism efforts in the North-East.

According to security sources, the strike targeted identified ISWAP positions used as operational hideouts and movement corridors for launching attacks and evading ground troops.

The operation, guided by intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance inputs, is part of a broader strategy to degrade the group’s capacity across the Lake Chad Basin, where insurgent activity has persisted for years.

Military authorities have intensified air and ground offensives in recent weeks, focusing on disrupting supply chains, leadership structures, and recruitment networks of terrorist groups in the region.

This latest strike adds to a series of coordinated efforts aimed at weakening ISWAP’s influence and limiting its ability to regroup or mount large-scale attacks.

Analysts note that sustained aerial bombardments combined with ground clearance operations have increasingly pressured insurgent factions, forcing them into smaller, more isolated cells. However, they caution that the group remains adaptive and continues to exploit remote terrain and porous borders in the North-East.

Officials maintain that military operations will continue in line with national security objectives, focusing on restoring stability, securing vulnerable communities, and ensuring safe returns for displaced residents.

The development highlights ongoing collaboration between Nigerian forces and international partners in addressing the long-running insurgency in the region.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled:  Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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