The Joint Task Force North West, Operation FANSAN YAMMA, has launched Operation CLEAN SWEEP IV.
This is a major simultaneous offensive aimed at crushing terrorist and criminal networks across the North West region.
The Theatre Command announced the operation on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, saying it is designed to intensify pressure on terrorist and armed criminal elements, disrupt their networks, and prevent infiltration and expansion of terrorist activities.
The operation, according to a statement by Lieutenant Colonel Aliyu Danja, Media Information Officer, Joint Task Force North West Operation FANSAN YAMMA, brings coordinated ground and air actions to bear on identified threats across North Western States, towards degrading terrorist capabilities, disrupt their movements and logistics, and deny them the opportunity to establish footholds within Nigerian communities.
In Katsina State, the statement said troops of Sector 2 on 12 August 2026 conducted a clearance operation around suspected terrorist enclaves in Dutsinma Local Government Area.
The operation mounted significant pressure on the terrorists, compelling them to abandon their positions and withdraw into surrounding bushes, adding that "Clearance operations are ongoing in the general area."
In Zamfara State, following credible intelligence on the movement and convergence of terrorists on motorcycles in Anka LGA, the Air Component of Operation FANSAN YAMMA executed precision strikes.
The strikes neutralized scores of terrorists and forced survivors to abandon their motorcycles and flee into surrounding bushes.
The Air assets subsequently acquired and engaged the remaining terrorists.
A major component of CLEAN SWEEP IV is the deliberate effort to contain and dismantle the Lakurawa terrorist network across the Theatre.
"The operation is designed to prevent infiltration and reinforcement of Lakurawa elements into Nigeria, while denying the group the opportunity to exploit border areas as corridors for movement, logistics and the establishment of enclaves.
"The operation also seeks to block terrorist activities around the River Niger axis and the Kainji Lake National Park, preventing them from using the area as a platform for projecting violence into adjoining communities and other parts of the North West." it stated
The statement added that the launch of Operation CLEAN SWEEP IV underscores the proactive and sustained posture of Operation FANSAN YAMMA in confronting evolving terrorist threats across the region.
"The Theatre remains resolute in protecting civilian communities, securing Nigeria's territorial integrity and denying terrorist elements the opportunity to regroup, reinforce or establish operational footholds," the statement stated.