Insurgents of Boko Haram/Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) launched an attack 3 kilometres to Ajigin Bulabulin village in Borno State, reportedly to ascertain the firepower of the troops of the Special Forces Brigade.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the terrorists however met a stiff resistance. Subsequently, they sent a suicide bomber, who, on Tuesday, was neutralised.
ISWAP, a splinter of Boko Haram, is growing in power and influence in north-eastern Nigeria. It has notched military successes and made inroads among Muslim civilians by treating them better than its parent organisation.
From its territorial base on the banks and islands of Lake Chad, this jihadist group is waging a guerrilla war across north-eastern Nigeria and elsewhere on the lake’s periphery. By filling gaps in governance and service delivery, it has cultivated a level of support among local civilians that Boko Haram never enjoyed and has turned neglected communities in the area and islands in Lake Chad into a source of economic support.
ISWAP’s approach appears to have paid dividends in terms of recruitment and support.
With an estimated 3,500-5,000 members according to Crisis Group’s sources, it overshadows JAS, which has roughly 1,500-2,000, and appears to have gained the military upper hand over the latter. It has also caused real pain to the Nigerian military, its primary target, overrunning dozens of army bases and killing hundreds of soldiers since August 2018.
