The Nigerian Air Force (NAF), has confirmed the deaths of a top commander of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and eight other ISWAP members in a precision airstrike carried out in the Sambisa Forest area of Borno State “which targeted the leadership network of ISWAP.”
The operation took place on Saturday, August 8, 2026, when intelligence had gathered the movement of some allegedly ISWAP members in Sambisa Forest. The strike was undertaken by the Air Force of Operation Hadin Kai which is the military’s counter-insurgency operation in the North-East.
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The NAF’s report said that the intended commander was charged with aiding the transport and safekeeping of key elements of the extremist group. He, along with eight other fighters, will likely affect both leadership and operational aspects of ISWAP in the area.
The operation was said to have been preceded by intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions which helped the military to locate and track the movements of the fighters before an air interdiction was carried out.
The strike is part of the military’s strategy to weaken terrorists’ command-and-control network, hamper their freedom of movement and degrade their capabilities in a precision operation driven by intelligence inputs, NAF officials said.
However, Sambisa Forest remains at the centre of the ongoing insurgency in North-East Nigeria. The extensive forest area in the region has historically served as a harborage for the Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists and also featured in various attacks by Nigerian security forces.
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The move is coming off the heels of increased military response against ISWAP activities for the purpose of ruining their leadership, logistics and operational network in Borno State. The military has been increasingly using intelligence gathered through surveillance missions and ground searches to target HVTs for air interdiction.
The loss of a senior commander could impact ISWAP’s tactical operations, as they likely participated in a variety of leadership meetings and guarded against the group’s senior leadership.
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The effect on the general insurgency will depend on how the group replenishes its command cadre, as well as how it keeps its networks alive in the event of command changes. In the past, ISWAP has shown an ability to reorganise after military attacks and the loss of its key leadership.
The NAF said it will maintain precision air operations along with the ground contingents aimed at degrading the capability of the terrorists, and making the environments more secured in the whole North-East, including the hill areas.
The strike, therefore, is another blow in Nigeria’s ongoing Campaign against insurgent movement and group such ISWAP in the North-East.
