The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) says it has killed a senior Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) commander and eight other fighters in a precision airstrike in Borno State.

The operation, carried out on Saturday, August 8, 2026, targeted a hideout in the Sambisa Forest area, a longtime enclave for extremist groups in the North-East.

Director of Public Relations and Information for the NAF, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, said the strike followed credible intelligence on the movement of suspected terrorists, part of the ongoing Operation Hadin Kai, the military’s joint task force campaign against insurgency in the North-East.

“Acting on the intelligence, the NAF deployed a Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) to conduct persistent Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), enabling the identification and tracking of a group of terrorists as they moved towards a suspected hideout. Following the positive identification and confirmation of the target, the NAF aircraft conducted a precision engagement on the location,” Ejodame said in a statement.

He said battle damage assessment after the strike confirmed nine ISWAP fighters were killed, while several others were wounded.

“Among those reportedly neutralised was Abu Khalid Al Muhajir, described as a prominent ISWAP commander responsible for providing special security escorts for the movement of senior members of the terrorist group,” the statement said.

Ejodame said the commander’s elimination was a significant operational setback for ISWAP, given his reported knowledge of routes and terrain linking terrorist enclaves across Sambisa Forest and surrounding areas.

He added that intelligence gathered after the strike linked some of the terrorists affected to those suspected of involvement in a recent ambush of Nigerian troops along the Bita-Yamtage axis in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State.

Military Donates Educational Materials In Monguno As Non-Kinetic Push Continues

Separately, the Nigerian military, working with the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), donated educational materials to schools in Monguno Local Government Area of Borno State.

The donation formed part of the Nigerian Army’s Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) activities, a programme through which troops engage local communities alongside combat operations to build trust and support development.

According to a statement by the Acting Military Information Officer of the Joint Task Force (North-East), Captain Mohammed Goni, Headquarters Sector 3 of Operation Hadin Kai and the MNJTF made the donation on August 8, 2026.

Sector Commander, Brigadier-General Shehu Ahmed, represented by Brigadier-General Ikechukwu Ogundele, said the intervention was meant to complement kinetic operations, arguing that education remains fundamental to sustainable development and community resilience.

Receiving the materials on behalf of the Monguno Local Government Authority, Babagana Modu Kur thanked the sector for the donation and assured that the items would be distributed equitably among beneficiary schools.