A report by The New Humanitarian has claimed that military strikes conducted by the US in December 2025 killed 155 Lakurawa terrorists in Sokoto State.
The publication also claimed that the attacks left 200 additional Lakurawa fighters missing in the week following the operation.
The strikes, carried out in collaboration with Nigerian authorities, are believed to have involved Tomahawk missiles launched from a US destroyer positioned in the Gulf of Guinea.
The missiles targeted three districts in Sokoto State: Isa, Tangaza, and Tambuwal, though only Tangaza is widely recognised as a core area of Lakurawa.
It is believed that Tambuwal is not generally associated with organised armed violence, while Isa is a bandit stronghold largely controlled by Bello Turji.
Although details of the strike on Isa remain unclear, Turji is widely believed to have survived the attack. A Lakurawa camp in Tangaza, however, reportedly suffered significant losses.
The New Humanitarian reports that there were two missile hits. The first reportedly killed around 30 fighters.
As surviving members converged to assess the damage and assist the wounded, a second missile struck, killing those who had gathered.
In total, an estimated 155 Lakurawa were killed, including 19 who were initially injured but later succumbed to their wounds.
Dando Sibu, a key Lakurawa commander, is reported to have survived the attack because he left the location less than five minutes before the second missile was fired.
However, in the week following the strikes, about 200 Lakurawa fighters were reported missing. The group was also said to have lost nearly half of its cattle, which is a major source of its revenue.
However, the group launched a major attack on the town of Birnin Yauri in Kebbi State on 31 December. In the raid, which lasted several hours, at least 21 civilians were killed, with nine reportedly beheaded.
The US focus was on Lakurawa, though the strikes didn’t touch other jihadist groups, including Boko Haram, as well as the al-Qaeda-linked Ansaru.
