Five suspected members of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), including an alleged medical officer and four improvised explosive device (IED) specialists, were reportedly killed in a premature explosion while assembling explosives in Marte Local Government Area of Borno State.

Intelligence sources, including security analyst Zagazola Makama, said the incident occurred at Maina Daya village, located between Sabon Tumbu and Jubilaram, about 29 kilometres east of Monguno.

According to the sources, those killed included Usman Dan Fulani, identified as an ISWAP medical officer, two foreign Arab IED technicians and two ISWAP bomb-making experts.

The explosion reportedly occurred while the group was preparing improvised explosive devices for deployment, indicating plans to carry out attacks along key military supply routes within Sector 1 of Operation HADIN KAI.

Security analysts described the incident as a major setback for ISWAP’s bomb-making network, noting that the loss of experienced IED specialists could temporarily degrade the group’s capacity to conduct roadside bomb attacks in the Marte-Monguno axis.

Military sources said troops of Operation HADIN KAI have been directed to exploit the development by intensifying patrols, cordon-and-search operations and precision offensives around Monguno, Marte and Gamboru Ngala to prevent the terrorists from regrouping and rebuilding their IED capability.

The military has yet to issue an official statement on the incident.