Hits from air strike left Boko Haram leader "wounded"

By the hit of the air strike from two Nigerian Air Force jets, one of the deputies of  Abubakar Shekau died and left the Boko Haram leader Injured last friday, in Balla village, Borno state. Following the reports from AFP, it happened when the group came together to pray.

"Shekau was wounded in the bombings and is believed to be receiving treatment near the Nigerian border with Cameroon around Kolofata. His deputy, Abba Mustapha, alias Malam Abba, was killed in the attack along with another key lieutenant, Abubakar Gashua, alias Abu Aisha," a military source said

Baba Kolo, member of the Civilian Joint Taskforce, also attested that the Boko Haram leader was wounded in the air strike:  "Shekau was injured and a number of commanders were killed. Among them is his deputy called Malam Abba. They suffered heavy casualties because the bombings targeted a large gathering of his followers attending Friday prayers."



The new development is yet to be confirmed by the Nigerian Military. Nevertheless, a confirmation was made by the senior military officer in Maiduguri that the air force blasted Boko Haram locations, "in the Damboa area on Friday where they hit the targets with precision". "We got intel (intelligence) that the terrorists were gathering at the location and we acted on the report," he added, also asked not to be disclosed as he was not approved to give report.




An informant who choose not to be revealed said Mustapha was preaching when the first jet blasted the Mosque around 1:00. After some time, the second jet took target to worshippers ofwhich some of them ran away.
"Shekau was just leaving a house nearby for the mosque when the first jet struck. He was injured in the second strike. They spent the rest of Friday and the whole of Saturday burying the dead" he said.