The leader of the Islamic State
West Africa Province (ISWAP) jihadist group, Abu Musab al-Barnawi, is dead,
Nigeria’s top military commander said on Thursday.
ISWAP has not given any
confirmation of al-Barnawi’s death and Nigeria’s army has claimed before to
have killed jihadist commanders only for them to reappear.
“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.
He did not give details on how or when al-Barnawi had died.
Under al-Barnawi, ISWAP became
the dominant jihadist force in Nigeria’s conflict, striking frequently at troops
in an insurgency that has killed more than 40,000 since it begun in 2009.
Al-Barnawi’s loss would be blow
to ISWAP’s structure just as it was consolidating since the death of rival Boko
Haram commander Abubakar Shekau earlier this year during infighting between the
factions.
But since splitting with Boko
Haram in 2016, the group has shown its resilience and carried out large-scale
ambushes on the military just in the last several weeks.
“Should al-Barnawi be dead, his
death may not have too much impact on ISWAP because of how structured the group
is,” said Malik Samuel, a researcher with the Institute for Security Studies.
“Since the 2016 split, ISWAP has
had about five leadership changes but the group has maintained its consistency
in launching deadly and successful attacks against security forces.”
– Son of jihadist leader –
Al-Barnawi is the son of the
founder of the Boko Haram militant group, Mohammed Yusuf, who was killed in
police custody in 2009 in Maiduguri.
But the ISWAP commander rose to
prominence after breaking away from Boko Haram over differences with its
commander Shekau, who according to security sources killed himself in May
rather than face capture by his rivals.
Since Shekau’s death, security
sources say, al-Barnawi had consolidated ISWAP’s control in Nigeria’s northeast
and the Lake Chad region but pockets of Boko Haram loyalists have been fighting
back.
Last month, ISWAP fighters killed
18 Nigeria security personal in an ambush in northeast Borno state using
roadside bombs and rockets in one of the deadliest assaults this year.
A week later another eight
soldiers were killed when ISWAP militants opened fire with rockets on another
convoy also in Borno.
But Boko Haram jihadists also
launched an attack last month on ISWAP militants on the Nigerian side of Lake
Chad, ISWAP’s bastion, seizing a strategic island, according to fishermen and a
security source.
Since Shekau’s death in his
Sambisa forest enclave, ISWAP has been fighting Boko Haram remnants who have
refused to pay allegiance.
Hundreds of Boko Haram members
have also since surrendered to the army along with families and children.
More than two million people have
been displaced by Nigeria’s conflict since it began 2009, and the violence has
spread over the borders to Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
(AFP)
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com