Nigeria's
air force said it had killed a number of senior Boko Haram fighters and
possibly their overall leader, and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry
arrived for talks on tackling the militants.
Government planes attacked the Islamist
group inside the Sambisa forest in its northeast heartland on Friday,
the air force said, adding that it had only just confirmed details of
the impact of the raid.
"Their leader, so called 'Abubakar Shekau', is believed to be fatally
wounded on his shoulders," the statement by military spokesman Colonel
Sani Kukasheka Usman added, without going into details on the source of
its information.
Kerry did not make a direct reference to the reported air raid on his
arrival on Tuesday, but his administration has paid close attention to
the fight against a militant group that has declared allegiance to
Islamic State and destabilized a whole region by attacking Nigeria's
neighbors.
On his first stop in the northern city of Sokoto, the top U.S.
diplomat said the struggle against Boko Haram would only succeed if it
tackled the reasons why people join militant groups and gained the
public's trust.
"It is understandable that, in the wake of
terrorist activity, some are tempted to crack down on anyone and
everyone who could theoretically pose some sort of threat. But extremism
can't be defeated through repression or fear," he said.
U.S. PLANES
Nigeria has been pushing the United States to sell it aircraft to
take on Boko Haram - a group that emerged in northeast Borno region
seven years ago. The militants have killed an estimated 15,000 people in
their fight to set up an Islamist state.
Under Nigeria's last president, Goodluck Jonathan, the United States
had blocked arms sales and ended training of Nigerian troops partly over
human rights concerns such as treatment of captured insurgents.
But the new administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has argued
its human rights record has improved significantly enough to lift the
blockade.
In May, U.S. officials told Reuters that Washington wanted to sell up
to 12 A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft to Nigeria in recognition
of Buhari's reform of the country's army. Congress needs to approve the
deal.
Kerry said Buhari had made "a strong start at all levels of
government" since taking office in May 2015, without referring
specifically to rights abuses. Kerry was due to visit Buhari later in the capital Abuja, officials said.
There was no immediate reaction from Boko Haram, which communicates
with the media only by videos. The military has reported the death of
Boko Haram's Shekau in the past, only to have a man purporting to be him
appear later, apparently unharmed, making video statements.
There have been recent signs of rifts between at least parts of Boko
Haram and Islamic State. The global militant organization announced a
new leader for what it described as its West African operations this
month - an account that Abubakar Shekau appeared to contradict in a
later video message.
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