A Boko Haram terrorist splinter group known by the acronym ISWAP - Islamic State West Africa Province - uses drones and armoured car bombs to track and attack Nigerian forces, with equipment and technical expertise provided by Daesh* core, according to a report by the Soufan Group on Tuesday.
"ISWAP has received tactical guidance from Daesh core, with innovation on utilising drones [as] the most effective means of detecting Nigeria’s military movements, conducting ambushes against them and undermining the military’s new 'supercamp' strategy," the report said.
ISWAP dominates large tracts of Nigeria’s north-eastern Borno province. The nation’s military recently consolidated soldiers in large "supercamps" instead of poorly protected rural positions to battle the terrorist group, which controls much of the region, the report explained.
ISWAP is one of several groups created when the Boko Haram terrorist group splintered in 2016, the report noted.
Technology and equipment was most likely transferred from Daesh in Syria and Iraq through direct exchanges between fighters in Libya or Nigeria, the report said.
Daesh also transferred media templates and graphics to ISWAP, whose media is fully incorporated into the group’s centralised messaging, the report added.
* Daesh (ISIL/ISIS/IS/Islamic State) is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia
