At Auno in Konduga local government area of Borno State, Islamic State of the West African Province (ISWAP) militants attacked a checkpoint, resulting in the death of one policeman and many gunshot wounds to others. Auno is located along the infamous Maiduguri- Damaturu route, where terrorists have been kidnapping and killing drivers and passengers. Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, is around 24 kilometres away.
A police officer was killed and many others were injured when a group of terrorists stormed a checkpoint set up by the crack team of officers around 1:00 am on Monday. A gunfight between the two on-duty officers and the terrorists in Lake Chad ended in the death of the victim, according to an intelligence report by security analyst and counterinsurgency expert Zagazola Makama.
According to sources, police officers from another area raced to the spot as soon as they heard gunshots and engaged the terrorists, forcing them to flee.
“The gunmen are thought to have entered the area on foot after slipping over a dug parapet and attacked the unit. The source claimed that the personnel pursued the terrorists in the same manner through their escape route but were unsuccessful.
ISWAP: The Herald of Death
A violent sect of the Islamic State (IS), the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP), has either directly or indirectly destroyed the peace and security of Western Asia and the rest of the world. In 2014, Islamic State inflicted devastation on a large portion of Iraq and Syria after establishing itself as a Caliphate with Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi as its Caliph.
With operations around the borders of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and the Niger Republic, the splinter group ISWAP mostly operates in the Chad Basin.
It is a deadly rival group that stems from Boko Haram; after a conflict with ISWAP in 2021, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau committed suicide. Although there are few direct connections between ISWAP and IS-GS, it serves as the umbrella organization for all IS groups in West Africa, including IS-GS.
The rise of Boko Haram, a Salafi jihadist outfit based in Borno State in northeastern Nigeria, is when ISWAP first appeared. Following an abortive rebellion in 2009, the movement launched an insurgency against the Nigerian government with the intention of establishing an Islamic state in northern Nigeria and its neighboring nations of Cameroon, Chad, and Niger.
ISWAP invaded a Nigerian Army base at Mainok in April 2021 and took control of main battle tanks and other armored fighting vehicles in addition to other military hardware. The bases of Boko Haram in the Sambisa Forest were attacked by ISWAP in the next month, and Abubakar Shekau committed suicide. As a result, a large number of Boko Haram fighters joined ISWAP, and the organization established a network of strongholds spanning southern Libya, Mali, and Nigeria. ISWAP had to deal with Boko Haram supporters who persisted in opposing the Islamic State despite this significant success.
In Nigeria’s Borno State, ISWAP started to take over villages and establish marketplaces by January 2022. After seizing the little village of Gudumbali on January 24, 2022, the rebels proclaimed it the new capital of the province and expelled the local chieftains. Gudumbali is significant both strategically and symbolically because it is situated in a fortified area and was a key Boko Haram stronghold when that organization was at its most powerful. However, this time, Nigerian troops launched an immediate counterattack, retaking the town, obliterating the ISWAP office there as well as a nearby night market that was connected to the organization.
By this time, academics Jasminder Singh and Rueben Dass asserted that ISWAP had developed into one of IS’ most significant bastions. However, Nigeria persisted in its assaults on ISWAP’s leadership during the ensuing months, killing more senior commanders. The Nigerian National Security Council declared in June 2022 that ISWAP was most likely to blame for the attack on the Owo church.