DHQ Says US Disclosure On 199 Jihadists Was May Nigeria-US Operation

The Defence Headquarters has said a United States disclosure about the killing of 199 jihadists and the recovery of a large cache of electronic materials refers to a joint Nigeria-US operation carried out in May 2026, not a fresh raid.

Vanguard reported that the Director of Defence Information, Major General Samaila Uba, made the clarification after Sebastian Gorka, the US Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council, described the mission as one of the most successful counter-terrorism operations under the current US administration.

Premium Times reported that Gorka said US forces recovered what he described as the largest cache of terrorist electronic materials since the September 11, 2001 attacks during an operation against Islamic State West Africa Province in North-East Nigeria.

According to Premium Times, Gorka said 199 jihadists were killed and that the recovered materials were being examined by US intelligence experts for information on how ISIS-linked groups communicate.

Uba told Vanguard that the operation had already been announced by the Nigerian military, adding that the latest details released in the US were previously classified information about the May mission.

The Nigerian military had earlier said the operation targeted Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, also known as Abubakar Mainok, a senior ISWAP commander, and several of his lieutenants around the Lake Chad Basin.

The disclosure comes as Nigeria and the United States continue security cooperation after the establishment of a Joint Working Group on Security following talks involving National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu in Washington.

Sources: Premium Times; Vanguard