Troops under the Joint Task Force North West, Operation Fansan Yamma, have launched a major ground and air offensive, codenamed Operation Clean Sweep IV, targeting terrorist and armed criminal networks across the North-West.

The operation is aimed at dismantling terrorist networks, disrupting their logistics and movements, and preventing them from establishing operational footholds in communities across the region.

In a statement issued by the Theatre Command’s Media Information Officer, Lt-Col Aliyu Danja, the command said troops of Sector 2 carried out clearance operations on Tuesday around suspected terrorist enclaves in Dutsinma Local Government Area of Katsina State.

According to him, the operation put the terrorists under sustained pressure, forcing them to abandon their positions and retreat into surrounding bushes.

In Zamfara State, the Air Component of Operation Fansan Yamma, acting on credible intelligence, conducted precision airstrikes on terrorists who were reportedly converging on motorcycles in Anka Local Government Area.

The command said scores of terrorists were neutralised, while survivors abandoned their motorcycles and fled into the bushes.

It added that the air assets subsequently tracked and engaged some of the fleeing terrorists.

A major focus of Operation Clean Sweep IV is the deliberate effort to contain and dismantle the Lakurawa terrorist network, which has emerged as a security threat across parts of the North-West.

The operation is also targeting terrorist elements operating around the River Niger axis and the Kainji Lake National Park, with the military seeking to deny them the use of the areas as corridors for movement, logistics and attacks on neighbouring communities.

The Theatre Command said the launch of Operation Clean Sweep IV underscores the military’s proactive and sustained approach to tackling evolving terrorist threats across the region.

It reaffirmed its commitment to protecting civilian communities, safeguarding Nigeria’s territorial integrity and preventing terrorist groups from regrouping, reinforcing their ranks or establishing operational footholds.