The Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), a splinter group of the jihadist terrorist organization Boko Haram, released a statement on Tuesday confirming the attack on soldiers that led to the deaths of up to 30 in the Borno State of Nigeria.
According to International Christian Concern, Sahara Reporters revealed just how the statement outlined ISWAP's violent attacks on Nigerian soldiers resulted in the death of up to 30 of them.
Sahara Reporters wrote that the Nigerian soldiers were "killed when two explosive-laden vehicles rammed into a military convoy in Wulgo," a forest area in Borno State. According to the report on the more recent attack of the Islamic terrorist group ISWAP, "About 25 AK-47 rifles, three anti-aircraft guns, three general purpose machine guns, two automatic grenade launchers (AGL), and two-gun trucks, among other ammunition, were also recovered by troops."
The terrorist group ISWAP has been "growing in power and influence," according to the Geneva Centre for Security and Governance. ISWAP has a territorial base on the banks and islands of Lake Chad and is waging a war against the people in north-eastern Nigeria. The jihadist group finds supporters in local communities that have been neglected by the government. They are known to have "violent and coercive" methods and has "established a largely symbiotic relationship with the Lake Chad area's inhabitants."
The Sahara Reporters' report recounted how the Islamic terrorist group ISWAP has grown to be a force since splitting from Boko Haram in 2016 and "focusing on military targets and high-profile attacks, including against aid workers."
"The Nigerian army has repeatedly claimed that the insurgency has been largely defeated and frequently underplays any losses," the reporters added. Islamic terrorist group ISWAP, its parent group Boko Haram, and Fulani Militants have killed thousands of Christians and displaced millions more in their fight to purge Nigeria of western influence and implement stricter Islamic Sharia law.
In response to ISWAP's deadly attack on Nigerian soldiers and their continued acts of terror on the northern part of Africa's most populous nation, the Nigerian government has committed to using the full force of its military to fight these terrorist groups.
According to Bloomberg, the terrorist attacks have forced farmers to flee their lands due to the massacre of farmers and schools had to close following the mass abduction of children. These terrorist acts have been carried out by factions such as the Islamic Terrorist Group ISWAP as a result of the decade-long insurgency of Boko Haram. President Muhammadu Buhari is now pressured to address these growing concerns of conflict in the area.
"Government will not allow itself to be blackmailed by any group or any individual who thinks he can hide under the surface and use proxies to deal a fatal blow on innocent people," Nigeria's national security adviser Babagana Monguno said about the ISWAP's attacks during a briefing in the country's capital of Abuja on Tuesday.
Monguno revealed that the government is already acting on intelligence and in response is investing in both assets and equipment to quash these terrorist groups.
