Is Boko Haram chief dead? Nigeria probes

NEW DELHI: Nigeria’s military is investigating reports that militant group Boko Haram chief may have been killed or seriously injured following clashes with rival jihadis, an army spokesman said on Friday.

Abubakar Shekau

has been the figurehead of an Islamist insurgency that has since 2009 killed more than 30,000 people. A number of reports published on Thursday in Nigeria media, citing intelligence sources, said Shekau was seriously hurt or killed. A Nigerian army spokesman said: “It’s a rumour. We are investigating it.” Shekau was said to have been killed on several occasions over the last 12 years, only to later appear in a video post.