Troops of Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) have recorded a major operational success in Borno and Yobe States with the arrest of two suspected suicide bombers and the disruption of critical logistics networks sustaining Boko Haram terror activities. One of the suspects was apprehended in Banki town during joint operations and intelligence-led patrols by troops deployed under the Joint Task Force North East (JTF NE), while the second was earlier arrested in Damaturu, Yobe State, in connection with the December 24 suicide bomb attack at the Gamboru Market Mosque. According to security analyst, Zagazola Makama, the attack was part of the coordinated plans by Jamaatu Ahlis Sunna Liddaawati wal-Jihad (JAS), Ansaru and Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) elements to execute suicide bombings and improvised explosive device (IED) attacks across parts of the North-East zone. It was gathered that a Boko Haram team led by a notorious IED expert, Munzir Abu Ziyadah, allegedly prepared up to 10 person-borne improvised explosive device (PBIED) attacks from the Ali Ngulde camp axis. The terrorists reportedly moved through the Ngoshe Mountains towards Gazuwa and Ngom, infiltrating several communities in Borno State ahead of planned attacks. One of the terrorists successfully detonated his explosive at Gamboru Market Mosque on December 24, k!lling five worshippers and injuring 32 others. Shortly after the Maiduguri bomb blast, the Theatre Commander Joint Task Force, North East Operation HADIN KAI, Maj Gen Abdulsalam Abubakar, directed a shift from routine presence to hunter-k!ller and pre-emptive interdiction operations across the theater. The Theatre Commander ordered an immediate reconfiguration of forces, with emphasis on intelligence-led operations, layered security around places of worship and markets, and tighter control of movement corridors within Maiduguri and adjoining frontline communities. Zagazola reliably informed that at about 5:40 p.m. on December 29, troops deployed at the Banki Central Mosque intercepted a suspected suicide bomber in possession of primed improvised explosive device (IED) materials. The sources said that further investigation revealed additional incriminating IED materials in the suspects possession, while he was currently undergoing detailed interrogation. Meanwhile, investigations into the December 24 suicide bombing at the Gamboru Market Mosque in Maiduguri have also recorded fresh breakthroughs with the arrest and repatriation of another suspected suicide bomber in Yobe state. The suspect, identified as Ibrahim, was arrested in Damaturu by hunters group working in collaboration with Operation Hadin Kai and was brought back to Maiduguri on December 29 for further interrogation. The source said Ibrahim was taken to the Izala Mosque in the Tashan Joni area of Maiduguri, where he identified a spot he claimed to have dropped a bag containing an IED after he could not get close enough to detonate it. "However, the bag was not found at the indicated location, the source said. Further interrogation reportedly led the suspect to confess that he planted another bomb in a bag at the entrance of the Gamboru Market Mosque on December 24, while his accomplice, identified as Adamu, now deceased, entered the mosque wearing a suicide vest which was detonated inside the mosque. The suspect also disclosed that six suicide bombers were deployed to Maiduguri ahead of the attack under the coordination of a terror kingpin. He reportedly named three of the bombers Salisu, Yusuf and Adamu as residents of Maiduguri, while the remaining three another Adamu, Yusuf and Abdullahi, allegedly came from Michika Local Government Area of Adamawa State. However, in a related operation, troops deployed at the CameroonNigeria border gate intercepted a Peugeot vehicle conveying six bags of urea fertilizer, identified as a key component in the manufacture of IEDs. According to the sources, the driver and the consignment were taken into custody, while follow-up operations led to the arrest of the fertilizer dealer and recovery of an additional six bags of urea fertilizer. The arrests and seizures illustrated the sustained intelligence-driven operations of Operation Hadin Kai, aimed at dismantling suicide bombing cells, cutting off IED supply chains and preventing further attacks on civilian and religious targets across Borno State.
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