(MENAFN) Niger’s military announced on Thursday that its forces have killed Ibrahim Mahamadu, also known as Bakoura, a senior leader of the Boko Haram jihadist group.

The operation took place on Shilawa Island in Niger’s Diffa region, part of the Lake Chad Basin near the borders with Nigeria, Chad, and Cameroon. According to a statement from the Nigerien Armed Forces, early on August 15, fighter jets launched three precise strikes on positions occupied by Bakoura, also killing several other militant leaders.

Bakoura, a Nigerian national, had led Boko Haram since the death of former chief Abubakar Shekau in 2021. He had refused to join the rival Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and moved his fighters to Lake Chad islands.

Boko Haram began its insurgency in northeast Nigeria in the 2000s with the aim of establishing an Islamic caliphate. The group gained global attention in 2014 with the abduction of hundreds of schoolgirls from Chibok. Cross-border attacks prompted the formation of the Multinational Joint Task Force, comprising Niger, Chad, Nigeria, and Cameroon, to coordinate military efforts in the region.

Despite ongoing operations, insurgent violence continues to destabilize the area. As of November 2024, UN estimates indicate that Boko Haram-related conflict has killed 40,000 people in Nigeria and displaced over two million.

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