Troops of the Nigerian Army have reportedly killed a Boko Haram commander during an attack on the Sabon Fagi community in Gujba LGA of Yobe state.
Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency publication focused on the Lake Chad region, reported that the terrorists invaded the community on Friday.
The publication said the troops killed four Boko Haram fighters during the gun duel that ensued, noting that some insurgents escaped with bullet wounds.
Abu Shekau, a staunch loyalist of Abubakar Shekau, the late leader of the Boko Haram sect, was among those killed.
READ ALSO: Boko Haram kills 40 Chadian soldiers during raid
The publication also said Abu Shekau is a leading figure in the Boko Haram group, noting that his father named him after the late Boko Haram leader.
Makama added that the troops recovered several weapons from the insurgents.
Recall that the jihadist group recently launched an attack killing around 40 Chadian troops overnight near the Nigerian border, prompting an army operation to hunt down the militants.
Members of Boko Haram targeted a garrison housing more than 200 Chadian soldiers late Sunday in the Lake Chad region, an area plagued by various armed groups, local sources disclosed.
The presidency said in a statement that the attack struck near Ngouboua in the west of the country, “tragically leaving about 40 people dead.”
Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno visited the scene on Monday and launched an operation “to go after the attackers and track them down in their furthest hideouts”, the statement added.
The garrison’s unit commander was among the dead, a high-ranking officer said on condition of anonymity.
The assailants “had time to seize ammunition and equipment before they retreated”, the officer added.
Around 20 people were also wounded, military sources said.
In a vast expanse of water and swamps, the Lake Chad region’s countless islets serve as hideouts for jihadist groups, such as Boko Haram and its offshoot Islamic State in West Africa, ISWAP, who make regular attacks on the country’s army and civilians.
Credible News.ng
