No fewer than six suspected members of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have been killed following the premature detonation of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Marte Local Government Area of Borno State.
Security sources said the incident occurred around 7:00 a.m. on Saturday at Jubilaram, where the terrorists were reportedly assembling an explosive device.
The explosion comes barely hours after joint U.S. forces and the Nigerian Army reportedly eliminated a top ISWAP commander operating within the Lake Chad region.
Sources identified the leader of the bomb-making cell as Abu Umar, a suspected explosives expert, who died alongside five other militants in the blast. Three additional members of the group reportedly sustained severe injuries.
According to intelligence assessments, the deceased suspects were part of ISWAP’s IED manufacturing unit operating within the Marte-Kerenoa-Wulgo axis, a known insurgent corridor in the Lake Chad Basin.
The explosion is believed to have occurred while the device was being prepared, triggering a premature detonation that destroyed the site and caused multiple casualties.
Security analysts believe the death of Abu Umar and other bomb specialists could significantly disrupt ISWAP’s IED operations in the area. The affected manufacturing hub, located between Arinna Maimasallaci and Arinna Ciki, is also believed to have been rendered temporarily nonoperational following the incident.
Military sources said the development may further weaken the operational capacity of ISWAP along strategic routes within the Marte axis.
Security authorities are reportedly considering follow-up air and ground offensives aimed at exploiting the situation and limiting insurgent movements across the area.
