ISWAP fighters opened fire with heavy guns and rocket-propelled grenades on a military convoy of more than 100 vehicles near Gada Blu, killing approximately 15 soldiers.
10 Jul 2020 · Gada Biu, Ngala, Borno
Deaths
15
Kidnapped
0
Total casualties
15
Perpetrators
ISWAP
Response
As with the July 7 Bulabulin ambush, the Nigerian military did not issue a detailed official statement on the July 10 attacks. The Defence Headquarters typically reports only its own version of events, which often understates casualties
Displacement
0
Socioeconomic drivers
To paralyze the life-line road to the border (Cameroon).
Trajectory
In the Highway Interdiction Supremacy phase, which began in July 2020, ISWAP shifted its tactics from raiding villages to what they called Predatory Highway Governance. This transition revealed that the military's super camp strategy had left the roads between bases vulnerable, turning them into killing fields. Insurgent forces were able to neutralize the state's armor using mobile vehicles known as technicals.
Cycle notes
Mirrored earlier insurgent attacks including 30 August 2019 – Gasarwa convoy ambush using RPGs and heavy weapons along a major route, 25 September 2019 – Gubio convoy ambush involving intense firefight and troop casualties, 23 March 2020 – Goneri (the Gorge) ambush causing secondary explosions and heavy losses, 27 June 2020 – Komala convoy ambush targeting escorted civilian and military vehicles, and 07 July 2020 – Bulabulin ambush using concealment tactics against returning troops, collectively reflecting a recurring pattern in which Islamic State West Africa Province executes large-scale convoy ambushes on strategic highways—using heavy weapons and mobile “technicals” to neutralize armored movement, disrupt cross-border supply lines, and assert dominance over critical transit corridors in northeastern Nigeria.
Pattern
Convoy Ambush
Related — Ambush
ISWAP fighters launched a heavy attack on a military convoy traveling near Gudumbali. The insurgents ambushed the convoy, which consisted of seven vehicles, resulting in a fierce gun battle . The attack killed 15 soldiers and four CJTF members. Among the CJTF fatalities were two of their leaders — the head of the local vigilante group and the head of the local Civilian Joint Task Force . Thirteen government fighters, including 10 soldiers, were wounded in the ambush.
Colonel D.C. Bako, Commander of the 25 Task Force Brigade, led a patrol to clear Boko Haram terrorists from the Sabon Gari-Wajiroko axis when his team entered an ambush. The troops engaged the insurgents in a fierce battle. Under Bako’s leadership, the troops cleared the ambush, killing scores of terrorists and recovering weapons. Bako was wounded in action and evacuated by air to the 7 Division Hospital in Maiduguri, where he was initially reported to be recovering well. He died the following morning, September 21, after what the army described as a "successful operation."
A group of loggers was traveling under security escort to a bush area to collect firewood when they were ambushed by Boko Haram insurgents. The attackers opened fire, killing three loggers. The remaining loggers fled to Dikwa, leaving behind a pickup truck.