Niamey, Niger – The Nigerien army has claimed to have killed a senior leader of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram, known as ‘Bakoura,’ during an operation on August 15. The army identified the individual as Ibrahim Mahamadou, a long-time militant who had reportedly led the group since 2021 following the death of its former leader, Abubakar Shekau.
An army source told AFP that a series of targeted airstrikes were launched on positions Mahamadou occupied on Shilawa Island in southeastern Niger. The location is near the Lake Chad basin, a region bordering Niger, Nigeria, Chad, and Cameroon that has been a long-standing stronghold for the group. The claim has not been independently verified.
Mahamadou, originally from Nigeria, was said to be in his forties and to have joined Boko Haram more than a decade ago. His reported death comes amid an upsurge in attacks by the jihadist group across West Africa, which has seen incursions into military bases and assaults on civilian communities.
The wider region has recently seen significant action against militant groups. On Monday, Chad’s army announced the arrest of Muslim Mohammed Yusuf, the 18-year-old son of Boko Haram’s founder, Mohammed Yusuf. In Nigeria, the national security adviser stated that authorities had detained leaders of two other terrorist groups, Ansaru and Mahmuda. The two leaders are linked to a 2022 prison attack in Kuje that led to the escape of dozens of jailed Boko Haram members, as well as an attack on a uranium facility in Niger in 2013.
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