Troops of the 19 Brigade, Sector 3 of Operation Hadin Kai, have stopped an attack by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State, killing the group’s cameraman during a failed attempt to attack Cross Kauwa.
In a statement on Sunday, the acting spokesman for the operation in the North East, Mohammed Goni, said the attack happened at 10:20 p.m. on July 11, 2026, when the terrorists tried to use the cover of darkness to break into the troops’ position.
Goni said the soldiers quickly spotted the movement and answered with coordinated firepower, forcing the attackers to flee after suffering heavy losses.
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 said the attempted theft backed recent intelligence reports of a cholera outbreak inside ISWAP camps, including claims that some infected members 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 an early forensic review of the last video recorded before the attack showed the operation was planned by four senior ISWAP commanders, known as Qai’ds, along with three foreign terrorist facilitators.
According to him, the foreign facilitators included a Palestinian identified as Abu Ishaq, described by the military as ISWAP’s overall trainer; a Moroccan identified as Abu Thaiba, said to be a medical doctor working within the terrorist network; and another Arab operative whose identity is still unknown.
Goni said troops later secured the area and carried out follow-up operations to assess the scale of the terrorists’ losses.
He added that soldiers recovered the Sony camcorder, several rounds of PKT and 7.62mm Special ammunition, terrorist uniforms and other combat items.
He also said an initial review of satellite images after the battle showed the terrorists removed the bodies of some of their fighters while retreating.
He said credible human intelligence sources confirmed the group suffered heavy casualties, while many others were wounded by gunfire.
“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.
