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Nigerian Troops Eliminate Boko Haram Founder Tahir Baga in Sambisa Forest Raid In a recent operation named Hadin Kai, Nigerian Army forces are said to have eliminated Tahir Baga, a high-ranking leader of the group known as Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād, or Boko Haram, within the Sambisa Forest in Borno State. |
Tahir Baga, one of the original founders of Boko Haram, has been reported killed as Nigerian troops dismantle five terrorist strongholds in the Sambisa Forest and recover items including a Starlink WiFi router.
In a recent operation named Hadin Kai, Nigerian Army forces are said to have eliminated Tahir Baga, a high-ranking leader of the group known as Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād, or Boko Haram, within the Sambisa Forest in Borno State.
Counter-insurgency specialist Zagazola Makama, with expertise in the Lake Chad area, reported that Baga was killed on a Monday as the army took control of the Shababul Umma, Garin Panel Beater, and Lagara Anguwan Gwaigwai enclaves deep within the forest.
Makama noted that intense firefights between the troops and terrorists led to the deaths of several high-ranking Boko Haram commanders, including Baga, while others fled with injuries.
Baga, known as a close associate of Abubakar Shekau, was part of the initial group that established Boko Haram in Maiduguri before relocating to the Sambisa Forest alongside figures such as Mamman Nur, Khalid Albarnawi, Abubakar Shekau, Kaka Ali, Mustapha Chad, Abu Maryam, and Abu Krimima.
Respected within the sect as an Imam, Baga frequently disrupted attempts by fighters and their families to surrender and coerced numerous young girls into suicide bombings, promising them paradise as a reward.
Baga's death represents a significant setback for Boko Haram's operations.
In related news, the oldest son of Mamman Nur, the founder of the Islamic State of the West African Province (ISWAP), Mahmud Mamman Nur Albarnawy, surrendered to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Maiduguri, Borno State's capital, on a Sunday.
According to Makama, who cited a military source, Mahmud was identified as Nur's son following profiling at the NSCDC Command Headquarters in Maiduguri.
