Troops of Operation Hadin Kai killed four senior Islamic State West Africa Province members during an attack in Kukawa, Borno State. The attack occurred on 31 October 2026. Several fighters were also killed. The military identified the dead as a Shura Council member, Abu Hajara, a commander, Abul Walid, and two senior Arab fighters.
ISWAP split from Boko Haram in 2016. It has become the dominant insurgent group in the Lake Chad Basin. Its Shura Council sets strategy and appoints commanders. Killing a council member is significant. The group has mounted repeated attacks on military positions in Borno and Yobe. In late October, troops repelled attacks in Bitta and Buni Yadi, killing 48 fighters. The Kukawa operation is the latest in a sustained offensive.
The attack targeted troops in Kukawa. Ground forces, supported by air assets, repelled it. The military recovered weapons, ammunition and communication equipment. It did not disclose the number of soldiers killed or injured. The Kukawa fighting came three days after troops reportedly killed 55 insurgents, including several commanders, during an attack in Buni Yadi.
The pattern is clear. ISWAP is attacking. The military is repelling. Each operation produces casualties on both sides. The military releases figures for insurgent deaths. It rarely releases figures for its own. That asymmetry limits public understanding of the campaign’s cost.
The recovery of communication equipment is valuable. It can reveal networks, supply routes and financing. The military will exploit it. The death of a Shura Council member disrupts leadership. ISWAP will replace him. The group has demonstrated resilience.
Winners: The military, which demonstrated capacity. The Air Component, which supported the ground troops. Communities in Kukawa, which were defended. Intelligence networks, which provided targeting.
Losers: The four senior ISWAP members killed. ISWAP, which lost leadership and equipment. Soldiers killed or injured in the attack, whose numbers were not disclosed. Civilians in areas ISWAP will target next. The military, if it cannot sustain the tempo.
Bottom Line: Four senior ISWAP figures killed. A Shura Council member among them. The military is pressing. The group will regroup. The campaign continues. The public deserves the full casualty picture, not just the insurgent toll.