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Militant group ISWAP claims Nigeria's Boko Haram leader is dead
Updated 19:50, 07-Jun-2021
CGTN
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau speaks in front of guards in an unknown location in Nigeria in this still image taken from an undated video obtained on January 15, 2018. /Reuters

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau speaks in front of guards in an unknown location in Nigeria in this still image taken from an undated video obtained on January 15, 2018. /Reuters

The militant group Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) claimed in an audio recording on Sunday that Abubakar Shekau, leader of rival Nigerian militant Islamist group Boko Haram, was dead, Reuters reported. 

Shekau died around May 18 after detonating an explosive device when he was pursued by ISWAP fighters following a battle, a person claiming to be ISWAP leader Abu Musab al-Barnawi said on the audio recording.

"Abubakar Shekau, God has judged him by sending him to heaven," he can be heard saying. Two people familiar with al-Barnawi told Reuters the voice on the recording was that of the ISWAP leader.

Shekau's death was also claimed by a Nigerian intelligence report shared by a government official and Boko Haram researchers.

Last month, Nigeria's military said it was investigating reports of Shekau's death. The audio statement is ISWAP's first direct claim that its arch rival in the Lake Chad region has been killed.

According to some political analysts, Shekau's death could lead to the end of a violent rivalry between the two groups, enabling ISWAP to absorb Boko Haram fighters and consolidate its hold on territory in northeastern Nigeria.

(With input from Reuters)

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