An army spokesman said warplanes struck as the militants met for Friday prayers last week at a village deep within the Sambisa forest in Borno State. Buhari promised to dismantle Boko Haram within a year; although he hasn’t done so, military pressure on the terrorist group has increased and its territory has shrunk.
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Government planes attacked the group inside the Sambisa forest on Friday, the Nigerian air force said on Tuesday, adding that it had only just confirmed details of the impact of the raid.
He said: “Boko Haram terrorist commanders confirmed dead include Abubakar Mubi, Malam Nuhu and Malam Hamman, amongst others”.
But a statement from army spokesman Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman said Shekau was believed to be “fatally wounded”.
According to the military, the terrorists attempted to storm the troops’ location at about 10:00pm on Monday, but paid dearly, as the troops killed several of them, including two senior commanders that led the attack. The militants, believed to be still holding more than 200 of the girls they had kidnapped, demanded the government release some of its fighters in exchange for the girls.
Boko Haram is pledged to Islamic State group “caliph” Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and the group is sometimes referred to as Islamic State West Africa Province.
Kerry told the group that asset recovery is a lengthy, complicated process but the USA government has lawyers and accountants working on it, Mumuni said. “We in Edo State appreciate the fact that, but for the determination of our officers and men in uniform, only God knows which part of Nigeria would have been under the control of insurgents”.
But only a week later, the shadowy Shekau surfaced in a video posted on social media, ridiculing suggestions of his death and looking more composed and energetic than in previous appearances.
Earlier in August the U.S. government pledged $37 million in aid for victims of Boko Haram as fears of a starvation mounted in the ravaged Lake Chad region. In Abuja, the Secretary will meet with a group of adolescent girls working to change community perceptions that devalue the role of girls in society.
The US had blocked sales of aircraft to Nigeria during the tenure of former President Goodluck Jonathan over his administration’s poor human rights record.
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At the start of 2015, Boko Haram occupied an area the size of Belgium but has since been pushed back after Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon formed a coalition along with Benin to fight the group.
