Troops of the Joint Task Force (North East), Operation Hadin Kai, have neutralised Abu Khalid, a senior Boko Haram/ISWAP commander, during a night operation in Sambisa Forest, Borno State.
According to Lieutenant-Colonel Sani Uba, Theatre Command Media Information Officer, Khalid, who served as the second-in-command of Boko Haram in the Sambisa axis, was killed alongside 10 other terrorists.
Operation Details
Uba stated:
“Barely 24 hours after troops eliminated the notorious Boko Haram/ISWAP commander Julaibib in the Gujba axis of the Timbuktu Triangle, troops of Sector 1, alongside the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) on Operation Desert Sanity, engaged terrorists at the Komala general area of Konduga LGA during night offensives around 11:00 p.m.”
Abu Khalid was described as a key figure within the terrorist hierarchy, responsible for coordinating operations and logistics in the Sambisa axis.
The troops recovered five AK-47 rifles, magazines, several bicycles, assorted logistics and food items, and large quantities of medical consumables. No casualties were recorded among the soldiers, and morale remains high as clearance operations continue across the Sambisa Forest, Mandara Mountains, Timbuktu Triangle, and other known Boko Haram/ISWAP hideouts in the North-East.
Context of the Insurgency
Nigeria has been battling the Boko Haram insurgency for over a decade, which has claimed more than 40,000 lives and displaced roughly two million people in the northeast since 2009, according to United Nations data.
The conflict has spilled over into neighbouring Niger, Cameroon, and Chad, prompting a regional military coalition against jihadist groups.
This operation comes a day after an ISWAP roadside bomb along the Wajiroko–Azir axis in Damboa wounded several soldiers.
While violence has decreased from its peak a decade ago, when Boko Haram controlled large swathes of territory, analysts warned of an uptick in jihadist attacks in 2025.
International Reactions
The United States has criticised Nigeria’s handling of the insurgency, framing the violence as alleged persecution of Christians, a claim rejected by the Nigerian government. In December, US airstrikes targeted militants linked to the Islamic State, which Abuja confirmed had killed multiple terrorists, though specific fatalities remain unverified.
