Nigerian Troops and US Africa Command Kill Over 20 ISWAP Fighters in Coordinated Airstrike

The Defense Headquarters (DHQ) has announced that more than 20 members of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) were killed in a coordinated airstrike conducted jointly by the Nigerian military and the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) in the northeast. The strikes targeted the general Metele area and were triggered by intelligence reports on the movement and consolidation of terrorist elements in the region.

The Nigeria ISWAP airstrike US Africa Command operation marks one of the more significant publicly confirmed joint actions between the two militaries in recent memory.

The announcement was made in a statement by Maj. Gen. Samaila Uba, the Director of Defense Information, on Monday.

According to the DHQ, the airstrikes specifically targeted ISIS/ISWAP fighters who had been observed regrouping in the Metele area ahead of what was presumed to be a planned offensive or resupply activity. The military described the timing as intelligence-driven, meaning the strikes were not reactive but pre-emptive, based on confirmed movement patterns on the ground.

"The operation eliminated over 20 terrorists and is a significant victory in the counter-insurgency operations," the statement said.

The DHQ added that the operation was part of continuous efforts to destroy terrorist networks, deny insurgents safe havens, and prevent them from reconsolidating in areas they have previously been pushed out of.

The Metele area carries particular symbolic and strategic weight in Nigeria's counterterrorism history. In November 2018, a devastating ISWAP ambush in Metele killed dozens of Nigerian soldiers in one of the deadliest attacks on the military in the history of the conflict. The location has since remained a flashpoint in the broader campaign to clear insurgent strongholds in the Lake Chad Basin corridor.

Targeting ISWAP fighters regrouping in that same area sends a deliberate message, both operationally and symbolically.

The involvement of US Africa Command in this operation is a notable detail. AFRICOM's role in Nigeria's northeast has largely been one of intelligence sharing, surveillance support, and advisory capacity, but joint operations of this nature reflect a deepening of that collaboration as ISWAP's regional ambitions have grown.

The Nigeria ISWAP airstrike US Africa Command partnership is also a signal to regional neighbors that the multilateral pressure on ISWAP across the Lake Chad Basin is intensifying, not easing.

Maj. Gen. Uba used the announcement to restate the military's broader posture.

"There will be no safe harbor for terrorists anywhere in the nation," he said, adding that ongoing operations are designed to stop terrorist movements, remove combatants from the battlefield, and prevent regrouping.

The Armed Forces of Nigeria and US Africa Command confirmed they will continue joint operations to degrade terrorist capabilities across the Northeast.