The Nigerian military on Friday confirmed that a factional leader of the militant Boko Haram group, Mamman Nur, has been fatally injured.
A military statement said Mr. Nur, who broke away from the faction led by the better known Abubakar Shekau, was injured during an operation in the northeast.
According to the spokesman of the Operation Dole counterinsurgency force in northeast Nigeria, Onyema Nwachukwu, Mr. Nur was hit during a bombardment of a targeted location believed to be his base.
The statement did not indicate the location where the Boko Haram leader was attacked. It did not also say how he was identified.
Previous claims by the military that Mr. Shekau had been killed or fatally injured turned out to be false.
See the military statement below:
“Ongoing artillery and aerial bombardments of Boko Haram enclaves in the Lake Chad region by troops of Operation Lafiya Dole has continued to yield positive results.
“Currently an evaluation report of the ongoing operation indicates that a major factional leader of the terrorists group, Mamman Nur has been fatally injured in the bombardment as he and his sub commanders fled from the onslaught.
“Several of his foot soldiers have also been killed by troops, while many of the insurgents who escaped are now surrendering to Republic of Niger Defence Forces, following the Amnesty granted the insurgents by the Government of Niger Republic”.
