The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has announced that ongoing joint counterterrorism operations between Nigerian forces and the United States Africa Command have resulted in the killing of 175 Islamic State terrorists in the North-east, the epicentre of an insurgency in Nigeria.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the spokesperson for the DHQ, Samaila Uba, said the coordinated strikes, which commenced a few days ago, had inflicted significant damage on terrorist networks operating in the region.
Last Saturday, US President Donald Trump announced that a US-Nigeria joint operation killed an Islamic State commander, Abubakar Mainok, also known as Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki.
President Bola Tinubu confirmed the killing of the terror kingpin, saying he was killed alongside his foot soldiers on the Lake Chad island.
Subsequent reports by the military stated that Mr Mainok was killed by troops of Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), a joint task force in the North-east, and the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), at Metele, a border community in Borno State near the Niger Republic.
