Nigerian troops reportedly kill another top ISWAP commander

25 Dec Nigerian troops reportedly kill another top ISWAP commander

Combined troops of the Nigerian armed forces have reportedly executed a top commander of the Islamic State West Africa (ISWAP), identified as Modu Kime.

PR Nigeria, an online news platform with close ties with the military, reported that Kime who is also known as Abou Maryam (father of Maryam) was killed in airstrikes coordinated along the fringes of Lake Chad in Borno State.

The airstrikes were reportedly launched at the river banks of Bisko and Tumbum Tawaye in Abadam Local Government Area of Borno State.

The death of Abou Maryam comes a few months after the military announced the death of a factional leader of the terrorist activities organisation, Abubakar Shekau.

ISWAP, which is a breakaway faction of the Shekau-led Boko Haram faction, had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2016.

They have been responsible for the terrorist activities in the North-east and Lake Chad region.

Before the emergence of ISWAP, Boko Haram group had held the center stage of terrorism in Nigeria. It kicked off as a religious institution and a critic of the affairs of the government.

It has spread its tentacles to Niger, Cameroon and Chad.

According to the UN, the group has caused the deaths of over 35,000 persons in the ongoing crises in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe states and other parts of Nigeria since the beginning of the conflict in 2009.

 ‘How Abou Maryam was tracked down’

PR Nigeria quoted an unnamed source as saying that the operation was conducted after Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions revealed the location of the terror kingpin.

After an assessment from the spots of the air bombardment, it was discovered that scores of the terrorists and the commander were killed in the process, it said.

The source also said Abou Maryam had been on the radar of intelligence services.

“For some time we had been intercepting his communication and his coordination of attacks by his terror group, mostly in Borno State.

“He had operated around the axis of Tumbum Tawaye, Bisko, Garere, Arkumma and Dumbawa, Zari and Gundumbali LGA.

“Abou Maryam coordinated attacks on military troops and soft-targets mostly around Damasak, Nganzai and Gajiram and sometimes on outskirts of Maiduguri…”