Troops Repel Planned ISWAP on Damaturu, Force Terrorists to Retreat

By Zagazola Makama

Troops of Operation HADIN KAI have foiled a planned attack by suspected fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) on military positions in Damaturu, Yobe State.

Military sources told Zagazola Makama that the attempted attack was thwarted at about 11:48 p.m. on June 26 following actionable intelligence indicating that terrorists were planning to assault troops deployed at the Mega Checkpoint along the Damaturu–Maiduguri highway.

Acting on the intelligence, troops of the 233 Tank Battalion, in conjunction with personnel from Headquarters Sector 2, intensified night dominance patrols around Damaturu to intercept the advancing terrorists before they could reach the military position.

According to the sources, the troops, detected the movement of the terrorists as they advanced towards the town under the cover of darkness.

The troops immediately engaged the insurgents with effective firepower, disrupting their formation and forcing them to abandon the planned assault.

Unable to withstand the superior firepower, the terrorists retreated through Kunnari Village in Busari Local Government Area of Yobe State.

The troops subsequently pursued the fleeing insurgents along their withdrawal route in an exploitation operation but made no further contact, as the terrorists dispersed into the surrounding terrain.

Military sources described the operation as a successful pre-emptive action that prevented what could have been a coordinated attack on troops stationed along the strategic Damaturu–Maiduguri corridor.

They added that troops remain on high alert across the area, with intelligence-driven patrols and surveillance continuing to deny terrorist elements freedom of movement and protect key military installations and civilian communities in the North-East.