Nigerian Defense Headquarters (DHQ) confirms that a top commander of the Boko Haram militant group, was killed in the latest army operation in Borno State.
The source further noted that the top Boko Haram operative was among 100 militants killed in the ongoing operation Lafiya Dole in the restive Borno State of Nigeria.
The DHQ also noted besides key Boko Haram militants being decimated, the operation also saw one DSHK gun, two AK 47 rifles and magazines, one Rocket Propelled Grenade bomb, 273 rounds of anti-aircraft gun ammunition, 101 rounds of 7.62mm (NATO) ammunition, 15 jerricans of Premium Motor Spirit, and a Boko Haram flag being recovered. One gun truck was also seized during the operation.
“As an update to that report, it is gratifying to note that, own communication intercept confirmed by accurate intelligence revealed that a top Boko Haram Commander, Abu Usamah, was among those Boko Haram insurgents killed during that encounter,” DHQ statement read in part.
Abu Usamah death with no doubt has created a significant vacuum in the Boko Haram leadership, particularly as the Nigerian army troops remain resilient and continue to flush out the insurgent elements from their last enclaves in the country’s North East.
In another separate operation, the troops deployed in Forward Operating Base Kanama in Yunusari LGA killed scores of the Boko Haram militants and Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) insurgents who attempted to infiltrate their location in Yobe State on Friday last week.
Military forces from Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria and Niger have been struggling to defeat Boko Haram from the Lake Chad region for more than five years.
In 2015, Boko Haram faction pledged allegiance to the so called ISIS/Daesh group.
Boko Haram insurgency has affected some 26 million people in the Lake Chad region and has displaced 2.6 million others, according to the UN Refugee Agency reports.
