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 at about 7:00 a.m. on Saturday in Jubilaram, where the terrorists were reportedly assembling an explosive device when it detonated unexpectedly.
The explosion came barely hours after joint American and Nigerian troops reportedly eliminated a top ISWAP commander operating in the Lake Chad region.
According to security sources, the group of suspected IED makers was led by Abu Umar, believed to be a bomb-making specialist, who died alongside five other militants in the blast.
Three other members of the group were said to have sustained serious injuries during the explosion.
Intelligence assessments indicated that the deceased suspects were members of ISWAP’s IED-making cell operating within the Marte–Kerenoa–Wulgo axis, a known insurgent corridor in the Lake Chad Basin.
Sources said the explosion occurred while the device was being prepared, triggering a premature detonation that destroyed the site and caused multiple casualties.
Military intelligence officials believe the death of Abu Umar and other bomb-making specialists could significantly disrupt the group’s improvised explosive device operations in the area.
The blast was also said to have affected an IED manufacturing hub located between Arinna Maimasallaci and Arinna Ciki, which may now be temporarily non-operational.
Military sources added that the development could further weaken ISWAP’s operational capability along key movement routes within the Marte axis.
Security authorities are reportedly considering follow-up air and ground offensives aimed at exploiting the situation and further restricting insurgents’ freedom of movement in the area.
