Nigerian soldiers hit a Boko Haram position in the Kodunga area of Borno state in a night raid, and when it was over, the army said, Abu Khalid and 10 other militants were dead.
The army announced the result on February 1, 2026. Spokesman Sani Uba described Abu Khalid as “a key figure within the terrorist hierarchy, coordinating operations and logistics in the Sambisa axis,” the Associated Press and Reuters reported. A Nigerian news report described him as the group’s second-in-command.
What troops recovered
Soldiers took weapons, food and medical supplies from the site, according to the AP. Reuters reported that the army suffered no casualties of its own. These are the military’s claims; neither agency independently verified the raid.
A bloody run before the raid
The announcement came after Boko Haram attacks that killed dozens of people at a construction site and a military base in the same state. The army said clearance operations continue in the Sambisa Forest and the Mandara Mountains, aimed at Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province, known as ISWAP.
Boko Haram emerged in 2009 in opposition to Western education and pushed a strict reading of Islamic law. Nigeria has fought it for more than a decade. Reuters says the violence has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions in the Lake Chad region.
Sources
- Nigerian army said it killed a Boko Haram commander and 10 militants (Associated Press)
- Nigerian army says it killed a Boko Haram commander and 10 fighters (Reuters)
