Troops of Operation HADIN KAI killed 16 ISWAP terrorists and rescued 11 kidnapped victims across Borno in coordinated counter-offensives that followed a failed midnight attack on a military base.

The operations began after ISWAP fighters tried to overrun the Forward Operating Base in Auno on February 5. Troops from Sector 1, working with the Civilian Joint Task Force, repelled the attack with what the Defence Headquarters called "superior firepower." Then they went hunting.

On February 9, soldiers launched a follow-up offensive along the Komala axis in Konduga Local Government Area. They pursued fleeing terrorists to the Gidan Kaji axis, killing 16 militants. Several others escaped with gunshot wounds. Troops recovered over 20 bicycles, weapons, and what Defence spokesman Samaila Uba described as "a large cache of logistics supplies believed to be critical to the terrorists' operations."

Separately, troops arrested suspected ISWAP logistics suppliers around the Bukarti axis. They were transporting large quantities of drugs intended for the terrorists. No details on what drugs, how much, or where they were coming from. Just "large quantities."

Along the Buratai-Kamuya road, troops foiled a kidnapping attempt after responding to suspicious movements. They rescued two victims: Mallam Idris Adamu and Mallam Muhammadu Safiyanu. Both were reunited with their families in Buratai.

On the same day, troops responding to a distress call along the Chibok-Damboa axis rescued nine more kidnapped victims. No details on who they were, how long they'd been held, or what condition they were in when rescued.

The Defence Headquarters framed these operations as evidence of OPHK's "sustained efforts to dismantle terrorist networks, disrupt logistics corridors and ensure the protection of civilians across the North East." Fair description. Also an accurate description of what Nigerian troops have been doing for over a decade while ISWAP continues operating across the region.

The pattern is consistent. Terrorists attack. Soldiers respond. Some militants die. Victims get rescued. Supplies get seized. Then a few weeks or months pass, and it happens again. Different location, different victims, same cycle.

That doesn't diminish what troops accomplished this week. Sixteen terrorists dead is sixteen who can't kidnap anyone else. Eleven people rescued is eleven families reunited. These are real victories with real human impact. The question is whether they add up to strategic progress or just tactical wins in an endless loop.

ISWAP has been degraded repeatedly over the years. Leadership eliminated. Camps destroyed. Supply lines disrupted. Yet the group keeps recruiting, keeps attacking, keeps kidnapping. Which suggests the problem isn't military capacity (Nigeria's troops clearly can fight) but something deeper about why young men in the North-east keep joining insurgent groups even after watching thousands of fighters die.

The military can kill terrorists faster than ISWAP can recruit them. Or ISWAP can recruit faster than the military can eliminate them. Right now, despite regular operations like this week's, the balance seems stuck somewhere in between. Enough progress to claim victory. Not enough to actually end the insurgency.

Tuesday's operations will get filed in the Defence Headquarters' record of successful missions. ISWAP will replace the 16 fighters it lost. New kidnapping attempts will happen along different roads. Troops will respond again. And Nigerians watching from other parts of the country will wonder, as they have for years, when "sustained efforts" become sustained results.