Troops of the Nigerian Army under Operation Hadin Kai, the military campaign tasked with counterterrorism operations in Nigeria’s North East region, have successfully prevented a planned terrorist infiltration into Bitta, a rural community in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Thursday, 18 December 2025, when insurgents attempted to advance into the area from the Mandara Mountains, a rugged mountain range that stretches along the Nigeria–Cameroon border and has long served as a hideout for armed extremist groups operating in the Lake Chad Basin.
According to official military accounts, soldiers deployed in the area detected suspicious movement at about 12:30 a.m. through advanced surveillance systems. The troops maintained tactical patience, allowing the terrorists to enter a vulnerable range before engaging them with coordinated defensive fire.
Okay News reports that the confrontation led to the killing of several insurgents, including a senior terrorist fighter and his cameraman, dealing a significant blow to the group’s operational and propaganda capacity.
Confirming the development, the Media Information Officer of the Joint Task Force North East under Operation Hadin Kai, Lieutenant Colonel Sani Uba, disclosed the details in a statement shared via the official Nigerian Army account on the social media platform X.
Uba stated, “During the ensuing firefight, several terrorists were neutralised, including a senior terrorist fighter and his cameraman. As the remaining elements attempted to retreat, the Air Component of Operation Hadin Kai carried out precision strikes, further decimating the fleeing insurgents and disrupting their withdrawal routes.”
He added that ground forces later conducted a detailed sweep of the area, uncovering a cache of weapons, communication equipment, and logistics believed to belong to the terrorist group. Recovered items included a camcorder, AK-47 rifles, bandoliers, handheld radios, eleven AK-47 magazines loaded with ammunition, seven mobile phones, PKT machine guns, belts of PKT and General Purpose Machine Gun linked ammunition, as well as motorcycles and bicycles.
Further examination of the battlefield revealed blood trails and shallow graves, indicating that more insurgents may have been fatally wounded during the ground battle and subsequent air strikes.
The Nigerian Army said troop morale remains high as sustained operations continue across the North East to prevent terrorist groups from regaining freedom of movement and to safeguard vulnerable communities.
Uba stressed that the operation reflects the Nigerian military’s determination to defeat terrorism and restore lasting peace and stability across the region, which has endured over a decade of insurgency-related violence.
