Video: Troops free 360 hostages from heavily fortified JAS enclave in Borno
Abdullateef Fowewe
Troops of the Joint Task Force (North East) Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK) have rescued 360 abductees from a heavily fortified Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS) enclave deep within the Mandara Mountains in southern Borno State.
This was made known in a statement obtained on Sunday from the Nigerian.
The operation, carried out by Special Forces and Sector 1 troops after weeks of intelligence preparation and covert reconnaissance, recovered men, women and children who had been held in harsh conditions following abductions from several communities, particularly along the Ngoshe axis.
“This operation was the culmination of weeks of painstaking intelligence preparation, covert reconnaissance, and operational planning,” the statement said, adding that the rescue “underscores the growing operational reach, intelligence dominance, and tactical superiority of OPHK in denying terrorists freedom of action and protecting vulnerable populations across the theatre.”
OPHK officials said the mission followed receipt of “credible and corroborated intelligence from multiple sources” that identified the precise location of the hostages and an elaborate insurgent support network sustaining the enclave.
Intelligence elements then conducted an extensive target-development process that integrated Human Intelligence (HUMINT), Signals Intelligence (SIGINT), and persistent Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) using unmanned aerial systems and long-range reconnaissance patrols.
Through sustained collection and analysis, commanders gained a “comprehensive understanding of the terrain, insurgent disposition, defensive arrangements, movement patterns, and the condition of the abductees,” the statement said.
That situational awareness enabled forces to map the objective area, identify vulnerabilities in the terrorist network, and reduce risks to the hostages during the assault.
A decisive breakthrough came when OPHK intelligence assets “penetrated the terrorist network,” supplying timely and actionable information on the exact locations of abductees, insurgent commanders’ dispositions, internal security measures, and planned relocation routes.
Simultaneously, coordinated information and psychological operations were used to create uncertainty within the insurgent ranks, degrading cohesion and disrupting command-and-control arrangements.
The military said the intelligence advantage allowed commanders to “shape the operational environment well before the commencement of the assault phase.”
Details on insurgent casualties, arrests, or the disposition of recovered weapons were not immediately disclosed.
