X
Edition:
United States

  • Business
    • Business Home
    • Legal
    • Deals
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Finance
    • Autos
    • Reuters Summits
  • Markets
    • Markets Home
    • U.S. Markets
    • European Markets
    • Asian Markets
    • Global Market Data
    • Indices
    • Stocks
    • Bonds
    • Currencies
    • Comm & Energy
    • Futures
    • Funds
    • Earnings
    • Dividends
  • World
    • World Home
    • U.S.
    • Special Reports
    • Reuters Investigates
    • Euro Zone
    • Middle East
    • China
    • Japan
    • Mexico
    • Brazil
    • Africa
    • Russia
    • India
  • Politics
    • Politics Home
    • Election 2016
    • Polling Explorer
    • Just In: Election 2016
    • What Voters Want
    • Supreme Court
  • Tech
    • Technology Home
    • Science
    • Top 100 Global Innovators
    • Environment
    • Innovation
  • Commentary
    • Commentary Home
    • Podcasts
  • Breakingviews
    • Breakingviews Home
    • Breakingviews Video
  • Money
    • Money Home
    • Retirement
    • Lipper Awards
    • Analyst Research
    • Stock Screener
    • Fund Screener
  • Life
    • Health
    • Sports
    • Arts
    • Entertainment
    • Oddly Enough
    • Faithworld
  • Pictures
    • Pictures Home
    • The Wider Image
    • Photographers
    • Focus 360
  • Video
As Kerry visits Nigeria, air force says top Boko Haram fighters killed
  • Africa
    América Latina
  • عربي
    Argentina
  • Brasil
    Canada
  • 中国
    Deutschland
  • España
    France
  • India
    Italia
  • 日本
    México
  • РОССИЯ
    United Kingdom
  • United States
World News | Tue Aug 23, 2016 5:05pm EDT

As Kerry visits Nigeria, air force says top Boko Haram fighters killed

left
right
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is seen on arrival at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Nigeria, August 23, 2016. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde
1/5
left
right
A man purporting to be Boko Haram's leader Abubakar Shekau speaks in this still frame taken from social media video courtesy of SITE Intel Group, released on August 10, 2016, in an unknown location. MANDATORY CREDIT Social Media courtesy of SITE INTEL GROUP/ via REUTERS TV
2/5
left
right
FILE PHOTO - A poster advertising for the search of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau is pasted on a wall in Baga village on the outskirts of Maiduguri, in the north-eastern state of Borno, Nigeria May 13, 2013. REUTERS/Tim Cocks/File Photo
3/5
left
right
FILE PHOTO - A still image from a video posted by Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram on social media, seen by Reuters on August 14, 2016, shows a masked man talking to dozens of girls the group said are school girls kidnapped in the town of Chibok in 2014. Social Media/File Photo
4/5
left
right
FILE PHOTO - Nigerian soldiers hold up a Boko Haram flag that they had seized in the recently retaken town of Damasak, Nigeria, March 18, 2015. REUTERS/Emmanuel Braun/File Photo
5/5
By Lesley Wroughton | SOKOTO, Nigeria

SOKOTO, Nigeria 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 pledged to consider ways to ramp up military assistance to Nigeria to defeat the militant group.

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.

The Obama administration has paid close attention to the fight against the militant group which has declared allegiance to Islamic State and destabilized a whole region by attacking Nigeria's neighbors.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari did not address the reported air raid on the militants and Kerry did not raise it in their meeting in Abuja, a senior State Department official said. "It didn't come up," the official said in an interview, "I don't think (Buhari) has enough information and we didn't have enough information to raise it."

On his first stop in the remote northern city of Sokoto, the top U.S. diplomat said the struggle against Boko Haram would succeed only 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 argues its human rights record has improved significantly enough to lift the blockade.

The senior State Department official said there was now a recognition by the Nigerian military of the need to pay attention to human rights. "While they are not perfect, they are conscious" of the issue, the official added.

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.

In the meeting with Buhari at the sprawling presidential villa, Kerry promised to look at ways to ramp up military cooperation with Nigeria to "bring this fight to a close," the State Department official said, adding that the militant group no longer held any territory in the north.

Kerry "made very, very strong commitments to the (Nigerian) government that we are going to look at what we can do differently," the official said, adding that the package for the aircraft was still being considered and needed congressional approval.

"We are working with (Nigeria) to make sure they can afford it, and they know how to use" the aircraft, the official added.

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.

(Additional reporting by Camillus Eboh; Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha and Ulf Laessing; Editing by Richard Balmforth)

Trending Stories

    Editor's Pick

    LIVE: Election 2016

    Sponsored Topics

    Next In World News

    Exclusive: Yemen council head hails peace push, wants Saudis to 'feel pain'

    SANAA The head of a Houthi-backed ruling council pledged readiness on Monday to resume negotiations on ending Yemen's war but reserved the right to resist attacks by a Saudi-backed exiled government seeking to unseat it.

    European experts float post-Brexit 'partnership' with Britain

    BRUSSELS A senior German lawmaker, an adviser to the French prime minister and a former deputy head of the Bank of England have proposed that a post-Brexit Britain form a new "continental partnership" with the EU.

    Portugal's Guterres still leads race for U.N. chief after third ballot

    UNITED NATIONS Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres still leads the race to become the next United Nations Secretary-General after a third U.N. Security Council secret ballot on Monday, diplomats said.

    MORE FROM REUTERS

    From Around the Web By Taboola

    Sponsored Content By Dianomi

    X
    Follow Reuters:
    • Follow Us On Twitter
    • Follow Us On Facebook
    • Follow Us On RSS
    • Follow Us On Instagram
    • Follow Us On YouTube
    • Follow Us On LinkedIn
    Subscribe: Feeds | Newsletters | Podcasts | Apps
    Reuters News Agency | Brand Attribution Guidelines | Delivery Options

    Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:

    Eikon
    Information, analytics and exclusive news on financial markets - delivered in an intuitive desktop and mobile interface
    Elektron
    Everything you need to empower your workflow and enhance your enterprise data management
    World-Check
    Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks
    Westlaw
    Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology
    ONESOURCE
    The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs
    CHECKPOINT
    The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals

    All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays.

    • Site Feedback
    • Corrections
    • Advertise With Us
    • Advertising Guidelines
    • AdChoices
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy