The Nigerian army inflicted two heavy defeats on the Islamic State for West African Province (ISWAP) in Mallam Fatori and later at Mandararigau near Biu in Borno State, and the terror group appears to have paused its ‘Burn the Camps’ campaign. 

In Mallam Fatori, the army claims to have repelled ISWAP’s attack with a well-coordinated air and ground support response that prevented the terrorists from breaching the initial security barrier set up to protect the camp. The army later released a video showing how air attacks targeted the fleeing terrorists. As many as 60 of them were killed. 

At least 38 terrorists were killed when the military repelled another attack on Mandararigau on 28 March 2026. The terrorists set out to attack the army camp in the morning, but were ambushed before reaching it. 

The army has been assisted in its efforts by increased US Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. On 21 March 2026, the US confirmed that they had deployed an unknown number of MQ-9 drones and 200 troops. Terrorists typically travel in large groups either on foot or on bikes to attack their targets. The drones supplied by the US are able to gather information about their movements in the vast spaces of the north that enables the military to act faster and more effectively. This appears to be a game changer. The 200 US troops are mainly engaged in training special forces, some of whom have already been deployed in fighting the terrorists. 

The terrorists will be forced to move in smaller numbers or only at night, which will limit their capacity to inflict harm on army bases. This may have forced their recent pause in the ‘Burn the Camps’ campaign, but the risk remains that they will adjust their strategy.