ISWAP Ambush Near Damasak Leaves Nine Soldiers Dead And Several Missing

At least nine Nigerian soldiers were killed and more than a dozen remain missing following a deadly ambush by fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in northeast Borno State. The attack, which occurred on Friday, January 23, 2026, targeted a column of over 30 troops on foot patrol roughly 25 kilometers outside the town of Damasak, near the border with Niger.

The insurgents reportedly utilized a combination of pre-planted improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and sustained gunfire to scatter the patrol, causing many soldiers to disperse into the surrounding bush during the chaotic exchange.

Military and militia sources confirmed on January 27 that a search team recovered the bodies of the nine slain soldiers, but the fate of the remaining troops, including a commander with the rank of Major, remains uncertain.

 A member of the government-funded anti-jihadist militia reported that a man identifying himself as a terrorist has been answering the missing commander’s mobile phone, leading to fears that he may have been captured. This incident follows a similar assault on January 19, where eight soldiers were killed and 50 wounded during a heavy gun battle with Boko Haram insurgents in the Timbuktu Triangle.

The surge in violence comes despite intensified ground and air operations by the Nigerian military, which recently claimed to have neutralized hundreds of terrorists in the Sambisa Forest.

The situation in the northeast is further complicated by the emergence of Lakurawa, a northwestern-based group that has recently expanded its ties with Boko Haram, creating a “hybrid threat” of religious extremism and organized crime. As of January 30, 2026, the military has yet to issue an official statement regarding the missing Major or the exact number of personnel still unaccounted for from the Damasak patrol.