TOP leaders of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have reportedly surrendered to troops of the Joint Task Force (Northeast), Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK), following sustained military offensives.
This came as 76 terrorist foot soldiers, alongside some of their family members, also surrendered their arms to troops last week.
Acting Media Information Officer of Headquarters Joint Task Force (JTF), Capt. Mohammed Goni, who disclosed this in a statement on Monday, June 29, in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, however, did not reveal the identities of the commanders or exact locations where they surrendered for security reasons.
However, Goni attributed the development to sustained military pressure, backed by credible, timely and actionable intelligence.
He said a fresh group of top ISWAP leaders had abandoned their enclaves and surrendered to troops operating within the Northeast theatre, noting: “Among those who surrendered are key members of the terrorist network due to relentless military pressure.
“They are currently in a secure location undergoing profiling, debriefing and other established procedures in accordance with extant operational protocols.”
He noted that the latest surrender underscores the impact of the sustained JTF offensive, which has continued to dismantle terrorist strongholds, disrupt command and logistics structures and deny insurgents freedom of movement across the theatre of operations.
Goni said continuous operations have significantly degraded the terrorists’ combat capabilities, while weakening morale within their ranks and leadership, adding that a total of 76 terrorist foot soldiers with some families surrendered to troops within the last week alone.
Goni said recent gains demonstrated the effectiveness of the military’s counter-terrorism strategy, which combines precision combat operations, intelligence-led engagements and coordinated joint efforts with other security partners.
“The pressure on the remaining terrorist elements will continue unabated until they are completely neutralised or forced to surrender,” he stated.
