Boko Haram leader ‘fatally wounded’ in air strike, Nigeria says

LAGOS, Nigeria — Nigeria’s military said Tuesday it believes an air strike has “fatally wounded” Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau and killed about 300 militants, but there was no way to confirm yet another claim of the death of Nigeria’s Islamic extremist leader. The Nigerian Air Force carried out “the most unprecedented and spectacular air raid” while Shekau was praying on Friday, Islam’s holy day, at Taye village in the extremists’ Sambisa Forest holdout in northeast Nigeria, according to the statement signed by army spokesman Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman. A separate air force statement said the raid killed 300 militants and was a result of human intelligence and reconnaissance indicating key Boko Haram commanders were gathering for a meeting. The statements came the same day Secretary of State John Kerry met in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, with President Muhammadu Buhari to discuss Islamic extremism and regional security. Kerry praised the sultan of Sokoto, spiritual leader of Nigeria’s Muslims, for his work preaching tolerance and bringing together interfaith groups “to do the hard work of pushing back against extremism.” Buhari is under increasing pressure to rescue the girls or negotiate their release, but his spokesman has said officials are wary since previous negotiations failed because they were duped into talks with the wrong people.