By ZAKAA LAZARUS
Troops of Joint Task Force North East, Operation HADIN KAI, OPHK, have foiled a terrorist attack on Kukawa town in Borno State, neutralising several fighters through coordinated ground and air operations.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Acting Military Information Officer, Captain Mohammed Goni, on Saturday in Maiduguri.
According to the statement, at about 10:50pm on 28 August 2026, terrorists attacked troops of 101 Special Forces Battalion deployed at Kukawa.
The troops responded with direct and indirect fire, repelled the attack and forced the terrorists to withdraw towards the Cross Kauwa axis.
During the engagement, several terrorists were neutralised and others sustained gunshot wounds. Troops later recovered terrorist corpses during exploitation, confirming casualties.
As the fleeing terrorists withdrew on motorcycles, the Air Component of Operation HADIN KAI was coordinated to interdict them. Despite challenging weather, the air assets engaged terrorists hiding under trees and neutralised an estimated 10 fighters.
The statement added that Multi-National Joint Task Force, MNJTF, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance assets later tracked about 20 motorcycles conveying fleeing terrorists towards the Tunbuns/Kangarwa axis.
This enabled the Air Component to conduct a follow-up precision strike, neutralising an additional 15 terrorists and destroying 10 motorcycles.
“Ground troops during subsequent exploitation recovered two motorcycles, neutralised one more terrorist and recovered assorted ammunition and other items,” the statement said.
Four soldiers sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were promptly evacuated by air for medical attention. They are reported to be in stable condition.
Troops were immediately replenished by air with combat enablers to sustain operations. They have since commenced reorganisation and extensive exploitation of the area, while battle damage assessment is ongoing.
The statement said the coordinated action disrupted the attack, interdicted the terrorists’ withdrawal and degraded their ability to regroup.
“The successful defence of Kukawa once again demonstrates Operation HADIN KAI’s capacity to detect, contain and decisively respond to terrorist threats through effective integration of ground forces, air assets and intelligence capabilities,” it said.
Operation HADIN KAI reaffirmed its resolve to sustain offensive operations, intelligence-led surveillance and coordinated ground and air actions to degrade terrorist capabilities and protect communities across the North East.
