SOKOTO, AUGUST 23, 2016 – Nigeria’s air force said it had killed a number of senior Boko Haram fighters and possibly their overall leader, and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived for talks on tackling the militants.Government planes had attacked the Islamist group inside the Sambisa forest in its northeast heartland on Friday, the air force said, adding that it had only just confirmed details of the raid.
“Their leader, so called ‘Abubakar Shekau’, is believed to be fatally wounded on his shoulders,” the statement by military spokesman Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman added, without going into details on the source of its information.
The military has reported the death of Boko Haram’s Shekau in the past, only to have a man purporting to be him appear later, apparently unharmed, making video statements. There was no immediate reaction from the group, which communicates with the media only by videos.
Kerry did not make a direct reference to the reported air raid on his arrival on Tuesday, but his administration has paid close attention to the fight against a militant group that has declared allegiance to Islamic State and attacked Nigeria’s neighbours.
On his first stop in the northern city of Sokoto, the top U.S. diplomat said the struggle against Boko Haram would only succeed if it tackled the reasons why people join militant groups and gained the public’s trust.
“It is understandable that, in the wake of terrorist activity, some are tempted to crack down on anyone and everyone who could theoretically pose some sort of threat. But extremism can’t be defeated through repression or fear,” he said.
There was no immedaite comment from Kerry’s camp on the raids but he was due to speak in remote northwestern city of Sokoto later on Tuesday before travelling to Abuja to meet Buhari, officials said.
In May, U.S. officials told Reuters Washington wanted to sell up to 12 A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft to Nigeria in recognition of Buhari’s reform of the country’s army. Congress needs to approve the deal.
A Nigerian judicial inquiry said this month the army killed 349 people from the minority Shi’ite Muslim sect last December in a series of clashes for which troops involved should be prosecuted.
Two weeks ago Boko Haram published a video apparently showing recent footage of dozens of school girls from the northern city of Chibok kidnapped two years ago, saying some of them have been killed in air strikes.
The air force had denied it had killed any of the girls in air strikes. Authorities said in May that one of the missing girls had been found and Buhari vowed to rescue the others.
