Nigeria's military claimed Tuesday to have seriously injured Boko Haram's elusive leader Abubakar Shekau and killed other commanders in an air strike on the Islamist group's forest stronghold. The announcement was met with scepticism by Boko Haram experts who pointed out that Nigeria has repeatedly claimed to have killed Shekau in previous raids only for the militant leader to surface shortly afterwards in videos.
Shekau was "fatally wounded in the shoulder" during Friday's raids, said army spokesman Sani Usman in a statement, without giving further details. "I said wounded, if there is any other development I will let you know," Usman told AFP in a text message. Usman also said three Boko Haram commanders - Abubakar Mubi, Malam Nuhu and Malam Hamman - were confirmed dead with several others injured.