On 13 July, the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) published ‘Islamic State fortifies its position in the Lake Chad Basin’, detailing how ‘Boko Haram fighters who left for Libya over the years for different reasons are returning to the Lake Chad Basin to re-join Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP)’. According to interviews conducted by ISS, approximately 80 fighters in two batches arrived in Nigeria from Libya in April 2021. They were initially based in Shuwaram, Kukawa (Borno state) before being deployed to Timbuktu. An additional 120 operatives are expected to join ISWAP from Libya.