400 Starlink devices seized from Boko Haram and ISIS in Nigeria

The Nigerian army revealed the seizure of more than 400 internet communication devices manufactured by the American company Starlink.

This came during ongoing military operations against Boko Haram, which is loyal to al-Qaeda, and against ISIS strongholds in West Africa.

Planning and carrying out crimes

Brigadier General Bedi Martins, commander of the second sector of Operation Hadin Kai, which the army is waging against terrorist strongholds in northeastern Nigeria, stated that terrorist organizations are using Starlink communication devices in order to «communicate, plan, and carry out their crimes in the region.».

He continued during a press briefing he gave to military correspondents on Tuesday that the Starlink devices were confiscated during "ongoing intelligence operations" aimed at dismantling terrorist supply and communication networks.

He added that the intensive operations that enabled the confiscation of the devices included the Sambisa Forest and the Timbuktu Triangle, in the far northeast of Nigeria, which are considered the most dangerous strongholds of terrorist organizations, and a rear base from which most of the terrorist attacks that have struck Nigeria for years have been launched.

Operations since 2009

Since 2009, Nigeria has been facing an armed insurgency involving Boko Haram and a faction that broke away from it in 2016 and pledged allegiance to ISIS. More than 40,000 people have been killed in this armed insurgency, and millions have been displaced from their homes, while the Nigerian army tries to stifle the terrorist threat, but to no avail.