Nigerian Army Announces Death of ISIS West Africa Leader
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Nigeria's Top Military Leader announces the death of the leader of ISIS' in West Africa Province, Abu Musab al-Barnawi.
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Major General Lucky Irabor, who is tasked with the elimination of Boko Haram.
Nigeria's top general said on Thursday that Abu Musab al-Barnawi, leader of the insurgent group Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), is dead.
"I can authoritatively confirm to you that al Barnawi is dead. As simple as that. He is dead and remains dead," Chief of Defence Staff General Lucky Irabor told reporters.
ISWAP did not confirm this news in a statement. The Nigerian army had before announced the deaths of terrorist leaders, only to have them resurface again.
Who is Abu Musab al-Barnawi?
Al-Barnawi is the son of the founder of Nigeria's Boko Haram militant group which has been fighting a bloody insurgency in northeast Nigeria since 2009.
He rose to prominence after the group split with Boko Haram in 2016 over differences with its then-leader Abubakar Shekau, who was later killed in a fight between the two factions.
Since Shekau's death, al-Barnawi strengthened the group's hold over northeast Nigeria and the Lake Chad region. However, pockets of Boko Haram loyalists have been fighting back.
So far, more than 40,000 people have been killed in Nigeria's conflict, which displaced around 2 million people from their homes.
