Airstrike In Northern Nigeria Kills Boko Haram's Senior Member - Reports

Airstrike in Northern Nigeria Kills Boko Haram's Senior Member - Reports

Khalifa Umar, one of the leaders of Boko Haram organization, a part of the Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia), was killed in an airstrike conducted by the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in northern Nigeria, media reported on Monday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th January, 2020) Khalifa Umar, one of the leaders of Boko Haram organization, a part of the Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia), was killed in an airstrike conducted by the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in northern Nigeria, media reported on Monday.

MNJTF killed Umar on Saturday in the Lake Chad Basin, according to Nigerian newspaper Punch. Umar was reportedly a high-value target, the third most important person in Boko Haram and a chief judge of the organization.

Moreover, MNJTF's Chief of Military Public Information Col. Timothy Antigha said that three other senior members of Boko Haram were killed in a separate operation in Kwalaram village near the Cameroonian border.

Since 2009, Boko Haram has been leading violent warfare, which includes terror attacks and abductions, seeking to eliminate the Western system of education and establish Sharia law across Nigeria. In March 2015, the group pledged allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist organization (banned in Russia), rebranding as Islamic State's West Africa Province.

The MNJTF, currently comprised of military units from Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria, was set up in 1994 to combat the Boko Haram insurgency in the region.