Nigeria’s air force said it killed more than 35 Islamist militants in precision strikes on Saturday, targeting four assembly points in the Kumshe area of Borno State near the border with Cameroon. The operation, part of the long-running counter-insurgency campaign known as Operation Hadin Kai, followed intelligence that fighters loyal to Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) were preparing an attack on ground troops. Communication with those troops was later re-established, and the military said the area had been secured. The latest raid underscores an intensifying air campaign in the region. The military last week reported killing 592 militants since January, and on 21 August said it had repelled an ISWAP assault in Wulgo, also in Borno, eliminating seven fighters, including field commanders Abu Nazir and Abu Fatima. Across the border, Niger’s army separately announced that it had neutralised Boko Haram commander Ibrahim Bakoura—also known as Abu Oumaima—in a series of three airstrikes on Shelwa Island in the Lake Chad basin on 15 August. While the claim has not been independently verified, security analysts say the reported death of Bakoura, considered a key figure in a splinter faction loyal to the late Abubakar Shekau, would mark a setback for Boko Haram’s cross-border operations. The Lake Chad insurgency, which began in Nigeria in 2009, has killed roughly 40,000 people and displaced more than two million, according to United Nations estimates. Despite occasional lulls, both Nigeria and its neighbours have faced a resurgence of militant activity this year, prompting an expanded reliance on air power to support ground forces and disrupt insurgent supply routes.