Skip to main content

Boko Haram leader Shekau 'injured in air strike'


Kano (Nigeria) (AFP) - Boko Haram's leader Abubakar Shekau has been injured and one of his deputies killed in an air strike in northeast Nigeria, civilian and security sources told AFP on Wednesday.
Two Nigerian Air Force jets bombarded fighters who had gathered for prayers in Balla village, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Damboa, on the edge of the Sambisa Forest, last Friday.
"Shekau was wounded in the bombings and is believed to be receiving treatment near the Nigerian border with Cameroon around Kolofata," said one source with contacts within Boko Haram.
"His deputy, Abba Mustapha, alias Malam Abba, was killed in the attack along with another key lieutenant, Abubakar Gashua, alias Abu Aisha," he added.
Babakura Kolo, a member of the civilian militia in the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, gave a similar account, saying "Shekau was injured and a number of commanders were killed.
"Among them is his deputy called Malam Abba. They suffered heavy casualties because the bombings targeted a large gathering of his followers attending Friday prayers."
There was no immediate comment from the Nigerian military when contacted by AFP. The authorities have previously claimed to have killed Shekau on at least three occasions.
In an emailed statement on Tuesday night, the air force said it had bombed "a gathering of Boko Haram terrorists" last Friday "in a village 3.42 km northeast of Mangosum".
The "air interdiction mission" in the remote region involved three jets.
"Battle damage assessment conducted after the strike showed that several leaders of the Boko Haram terrorist organisation and their followers were killed during the attacks," it added.
- Reprisals -
A senior military officer in Maiduguri confirmed the air force bombed Boko Haram positions "in the Damboa area on Friday where they hit the targets with precision".
"We got intel (intelligence) that the terrorists were gathering at the location and we acted on the report," he added, requesting anonymity as he was not authorised to speak about the operation.
He said he was unable to comment on Shekau but the source with contacts in Boko Haram said Mustapha was preaching when the first jet bombed the mosque at about 1:00 pm (1200 GMT).
Moments later a second jet targeted worshippers as they fled.
"Shekau was just leaving a house nearby for the mosque when the first jet struck. He was injured in the second strike," said the source, describing the casualties as "huge".
"They spent the rest of Friday and the whole of Saturday burying the dead," he said, without specifying numbers.
Shekau had been bed-ridden for days with malaria before the attack, he added.
Local people in the Konduga area said Boko Haram fighters went on the rampage following the air strike.
"They came by the river hurling insults at us, accusing us of providing information about their locations and movements to the military," said fisherman Ibrahim Bawa.
"They said we were responsible for the attack on their mosque which killed many of their people. They were very angry," added another fisherman, Usman Sallau.
The jihadists rounded up six fishermen and slit their throats. Others escaped by swimming across the river, he said.
Boko Haram has killed over 20,000 people since it took up arms against the Nigerian government in 2009 to establish a hardline Islamist state.
The insurgency has decimated northeast Borno state with the violence displacing 2.6 million from their homes and causing a hunger crisis.
After years of suffering humiliating losses to Boko Haram, the Nigerian military has reclaimed swathes of territory back from the jihadists.
Yet despite claims that Boko Haram is a spent force, the Islamists still launch attack

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jailbreak: FG pledges to relocate correctional centers

  Jailbreak: FG pledges to relocate correctional centers Published   on   April 26, 2024 By   Esther Chisom Tunji-Ojo made the pledge when he visited the Suleja Medium Security Custodial Centre. DAILY POST recalls that 119 inmates escaped from the prison following a rainstorm that damaged the facility on Wednesday. The minister said it was imperative to relocate a lot of the correctional centres to a more conducive environment. “This facility was built in 1914 to house 250 inmates; before this incident, we had 499. “This is a testimony to what we keep talking about the overcrowding of our correctional centres. “You can look at the environment, it shows that we need to relocate them away from city centres to create better space, better security, and better infrastructure,” he said in a statement issued in Abuja by the Director of Press and Public Relations of the ministry, Mr Ozoya Imohimi. Tunji-Ojo said the ministry is already working behind the scenes to build a be...
Post a Comment
Read more

FG set to deploy first batch of CNG vehicles ahead of Tinubu's one year in office come 29th May 2024

  FG announce plans to deploy the first batch of CNG Vehicles ahead of first anniversary of Tinubu in office on May 29th 2024. Said N100 billion was allocated to purchase 5,500 CNG vehicles, 100 electric buses, and over 20,000 CNG conversion kits. Deployment of CNG vehicles is parts of FG’s vision to have at least one million natural gas propelled vehicles on the roads by 2027. The Federal Government has announced plans to start the deployment of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses and tricycles   for mass transit ahead of Tinubu administration’s first anniversary on May 29th. The move was disclosed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement on Sunday April 21st 2024. According to him, the Federal Government allocated N100 billion last year to purchase 5,500 CNG-powered vehicles (buses and tricycles), 100 electric buses, and over 20,000 CNG conversion kits. The funding, which is part of the N500 billion palliative budget, a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Jonathan Opens Up: "Why I Don’t Want To Testify For Metuh"

An application filed by former President Goodluck Jonathan before the Federal High Court in Abuja has revealed further reasons why he wants to be excused from appearing as a witness in defence of a former National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Olisa Metuh. Metuh is standing trial on charges involving, among others, the N400m he (Metuh) received from the Office of the National Security Adviser in 2014. The former President in his motion challenging the subpoena issued on him, stated that with “with several attempts by some persons in the current dispensation, to harass, intimidate and rubbish” his reputation and that of his wife, the witness summon issued on him upon Metuh’s request was a ploy to drag his name in the mud. He also argued in the motion filed on his behalf by his lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), on Monday, that his testimony being sought in Metuh’s trial, would not only amount to an invasion of his right to privacy, it would also expose him to a cri...
Post a Comment
Read more