The Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) says the flurry of attacks by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in the last couple of weeks followed pressure mounted on them by foreign collaborators to establish a caliphate.

It, however, assured that it was working with national forces to thwart the terrorists’ effort to make the Lake Chad area a sanctuary.

“It is imperative to mention that the MNJTF is aware of the pressure on ISWAP by its foreign collaborators to deliver on the Caliphate, hence the flurry of ISWAP inspired attacks of the last couple of weeks on both military and soft targets,” MNJTF spokesman, Col. Timothy Antigha said in a statement on Monday.

Antigha gave the breakdown of loss suffered by ISWAP in a recent operation at Doron Naira, in terms of equipment: 17 AK 47 rifles, two GPMG, one LMG, three AA guns, two 81MM mortar one RPG tubes, two RPG7 40MM bombs with chargers, two boxes of 12.7MM ammunition and 323 RDS of 7.62MM.

Others were three grenades, a gas cylinders and IED-making materials, while the ISWAP ammunition dump was destroyed.