| Battle of Sambisa Forest | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Boko Haram insurgency | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Abubakar Shekau † |
Abu Musab al-Barnawi Muhammad Dawud ("Abu Hafsat") Bako Gorgore (probably KIA) Dana Daguri | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
| Unknown | |||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
Unknown Several suicide bombers Some technicals | Dozens of technicals | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Many killed, many others defected; several executed | Several killed | ||||||||
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Nigeria_location_map.svg)  Location of Sambisa Forest &sq=&lang=&file=File:Africa_location_map.svg) Battle of Sambisa Forest (2021) (Africa) | |||||||||
In May 2021, the Islamic State's West Africa Province (ISWAP) launched an invasion of the Sambisa Forest in Borno State, Nigeria, which was serving as the main base of Boko Haram, a rival jihadist rebel group. Following heavy fighting, ISWAP overran the Boko Haram troops, cornering their leader Abubakar Shekau. The two sides entered negotiations about Boko Haram's surrender during which Shekau committed suicide, possibly detonating himself with a suicide vest. Shekau's death was regarded as a major event by outside observers, as he had been one of the main driving forces in the Islamist insurgency in Nigeria and neighboring countries since 2009.
- ^ "Nigeria Troops Overrun ISWAP Jihadist Camps in Northeast". Defense Post. 5 February 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
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