Boko Haram chief may be dead: Nigerian army

English>>World

Editor's Pick

Boko Haram chief may be dead: Nigerian army

(Xinhua) 13:23, August 20, 2013

Email|Print|Comments

twitter

facebook

Sina Microblog

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- The head of the Boko Haram sect, Abubakar Shekau, may have been killed in a gun battle with Nigerian security forces in the northeast Borno State, the military said Monday.

Shekau might have died at Amitchide, a border community in Cameroon, where he was receiving treatment from gunshots after an encounter with troops near one of their camps at the Sambisa Forest, Lt.-Col. Sagir Musa, spokesperson of the military-led Joint Task Force (JTF) said in a statement.

"Intelligence reports available to the Joint Task Force Operation Restore Order (ORO) revealed that Shekau, the most dreaded and wanted Boko Haram terrorists leader may have died," the statement said.

On June 30, the sect leader sneaked into the border community in Cameroon after he was mortally injured in the encounter with security operatives, according to the military mouthpiece.

"It is greatly believed that Shekau might have died between July 25 and August 3," he added.

The military alleged that the sect leader masterminded the abduction of seven French citizens and a former Nigerian minister Shettima Ali Monguno, in addition to many murders of Islamic clerics in northern Nigeria.

"He was also responsible for bombings of many places of worship and public buildings including Police Headquarters and United Nations Headquarters in Abuja," the military declared.

Going by Monday's declaration by the military about the purported death of Shekau, there are indications that the key leaders of the Boko Haram sect have been wiped out by the military.

Last week, the JTF claimed in a statement made available to Xinhua that a deputy leader of the Boko Haram sect was killed in an attack repelled by security forces.

It identified the deputy leader as Momodu Bama, also known as Abu Saad. Until his death, the deceased was, according to the JTF, the second in command to Shekau.

Abu Saad, who was reported to have sustained bullet wounds before his death, was killed alongside his father, Abatcha Flatari, also known as spiritual father of the sect.

"Abu Saad was Boko Haram's Operation Officer and second in command to Abubakar Shekau and was one of the most vicious and heartless killers in the group with penchant for slaughtering his victims," the military claimed, adding the deceased militant was in charge of indoctrinating child foot soldiers who are mainly abducted children.

However, a video purportedly released by Shekau last week has brought a new twist to the news of his death and that of his deputy, Abu Saad. The video showed a defiant Shekau blowing hot for a tougher battle with the military operatives and infidels, who go against Islam and its doctrines.

Meanwhile, the military dismissed the video on Monday, saying it was masterminded by an impostor.

Boko Haram, based in northeastern Nigeria, seeks to enshrine the Islamic sharia law in the Constitution, declaring war against Western education. Amid increasing casualties including women and children, President Goodluck Jonathan tried but failed to reach a ceasefire with the sect in April.