Three ISWAP Commanders Killed In Nigerian Military Bombardment | Tellwell Newspaper
Tellwell Newspaper, Abuja – Nigeria:
Three senior commanders of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) were among several jihadist fighters killed in aerial bombardments by Nigerian fighter jets of the group’s hideouts in Lake Chad, Tellwell Newspaper learnt from intelligence and local sources.
Nigerian air force fighter jets on Tuesday pulverized Jibillaram, Rino and Kangarwa islands, which are known bastions of the Islamic State-affiliated group in the lake, killing several fighters and inflicting huge material damage to the terror group, the sources said.
“It is true Nigerian jets pounded Jibillaram and Rino under Marte and Kangarwa under Kukawa two days ago,” an intelligence source told Tellwell Newspaper.
“Damage assessment is ongoing and information is gradually filtering in,” the intelligence source said.
Tellwell Newspaper has so far confirmed the deaths of three top commanders of the group in the aerial offensives, including Mohammed Balke, Malam Ciroma and Bashir Sniper.
The trio were killed when the jet dropped a bomb on their hideout in Jibillaram where they were holed up at the time of the raid.
Mohammed Balke was ISWAP’s chief of prisons in charge of hostages and Malam Ciroma was his second-in-command, while Bashir Sniper was the head of the jihadist group’s snipers brigade which oversees entry points of all the islands under its control.
Details of damages and losses incurred by ISWAP in the bombardments on Rino and Kangarwa were still sketchy.
Tellwell Newspaper, however, gathered from a local source in the region that dozens of motorcycles and vehicles belonging to the militants were destroyed in the air raid.
ISWAP split from Boko Haram in 2016 and rose to become a dominant jihadist group which focuses on attacking military bases and ambushing troops.
The group turned Lake Chad islands into its bastion, with the thick vegetation providing it cover while the fertile land around the lake and its freshwater fish give it abundant food supply sources.
The ISWAP-controlled islands have faced several aerial bombardments from the Nigerian air force but they have been quick to recover from the scars of the raids.
According to local sources in the area, islands under ISWAP including Abujar Ruwa, Mandarari, Dabinuwa, Tumbun Kare are bubbling with life, with jihadists “leading normal lives, unperturbed,” said a source who was in the area recently.
Even Kirta Wulgo, Sabon Tumbu and Tumbun Gini, ISWAP’s major strongholds that were scorched by Nigerian jets several months ago, are now brimming with life, with diesel and food supplies getting in on daily basis, said another source who didn’t want to be named for fear of retribution from the group.
Tellwell Newspaper leant that Tumbun Gini operates a busy weekly market on Wednesdays, where all kinds of merchandise are sold, ranging from diesel, food stuffs, soft drinks, condiments and seasonings as well as textile, among others. The jihadists are in control of the market and collect taxes from traders.
“For the insurgency to be crushed for good, Lake Chad islands must be cleansed of the insurgents because that is their breeding ground which must be obliterated to bring them to their knees,” said the source.
