Third Round of US-Nigeria Airstrikes Targets ISWAP in Metele, Borno — 175 Militants Killed in Three Days

A third round of coordinated US-Nigeria airstrikes targeted ISWAP positions in and around Metele, Borno State — the same area where a 2018 ambush killed 157 Nigerian soldiers in one of the army's worst defeats against Boko Haram. Major General Samaila Uba, Director of Defence Information, stated: 'The Armed Forces of Nigeria will continue to aggressively defend the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of the nation.' Targets destroyed included insurgent checkpoints, weapons caches, bomb-making facilities, and logistics networks. The cumulative toll from three rounds of US-Nigeria strikes since May 16 reached approximately 175 ISWAP and Boko Haram fighters killed, representing the highest single-week attrition rate inflicted on the northeast insurgency in years. The strikes were conducted under AFRICOM's coordination framework with explicit authorization from the Nigerian Defence Headquarters. President Tinubu publicly thanked the United States for 'leadership and unwavering support' in defeating terrorism.