Boko Haram chief may be dead: Nigeria military
Iran Press TV
Tue Aug 20, 2013 12:35PM GMT
Nigeria’s military has announced that Abubakar Shekau, the leader of the militant group Boko Haram, might have died of gunshot wounds during a clash with Nigerian troops.
The Nigerian army said in a statement on Monday that, “Intelligence reports available to the military revealed that Abubakar Shekau, the most dreaded and wanted Boko Haram terrorists leader might have died between 25 July to 3 August 2013."
The militant group, however, has made no comments on the statement.
According to the intelligence report, Shekau was shot on 30 June, when the troopers attacked Boko Haram camp in the Sambisa forest in northeastern Nigeria and was sneaked across the border into Cameroon for treatment.
This is while the National Defense Spokesman Brigadier General Chris Olukolade said, “We are yet to get confirmation on that,” adding that the security forces were still looking for definite evidence on Shekau’s death.
Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is forbidden,” aims to overthrow the Nigerian government. The group has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly gun and bomb attacks in various parts of Nigeria since 2009.
Over the past four years, violence in the north of Africa’s most populous country has claimed the lives of 3,600 people, including killings by the security forces.
MM/PR
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