Nigerian Soldiers killed two top Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) leaders in as many weeks in May and June 2025 as part of the Army’s ongoing Operation Hadin Kai.
On May 30, 2025, Army officials confirmed the death of Amir Abu Fatima, one of Nigeria’s most wanted terrorists. Soldiers killed Fatima and two top lieutenants in Aleru village in Borno State, according to Premium Times. Authorities said he was captured alive but soon bled to death from his wounds sustained in a gunbattle. Fatima was thought to have coordinated ISWAP attacks in northern Borno.
Nigerian forces recovered AK-47 rifles, magazines, ordnance and materials for making improvised explosive devices without sustaining any casualties, the Army reported.
On June 9, Operation Hadin Kai forces launched a coordinated air and ground operation in Borno State’s Gujba Local Government Area. The operation killed ISWAP commander Ameer Malam Jidda and scores of his fighters, Premium Times reported.
“Malam Jidda, who was identified as the Ameer of Ngorgore and Malumti villages, met his end during a fierce engagement with troops, who overpowered the terrorists with superior firepower,” according to a statement from Reuben Kovangiya, acting deputy director of Army Public Relations at Headquarters Theatre Command.
The statement said some terrorists escaped with gunshot wounds and others were neutralized when troops conducted an ambush operation during a follow-up in the Timbuktu Triangle, Premium Times reported.
Operation Hadin Kai is Nigeria’s ongoing counterterrorism effort, which began in April 2021 when it replaced the six-year Operation Lafiya Dole.