Embattled Boko Haram Leader Shekau Resurfaces in Footage + VIDEO

Sun Sep 25, 2016 17:11:23

The embattled leader of terrorist group Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, resurfaced in a video posted online on Sunday, rejecting assertions by the Nigerian army that he had been seriously wounded.

Shekau released the 40-minute video on YouTube, dated September 25, and said he is healthy and safe despite rumors spreading in the social media that he was injured or killed, Indian Express reported.

“Oh tyrants, I’m in a happy state, in good health and in safety,” he said in the video.

The Nigerian army said on August 23 that Shekau had been seriously wounded in the shoulder in an air raid in which several commanders were killed. The army’s claim was bolstered when Boko Haram released a video on September 13 without Shekau in it.

That video, also posted on YouTube, shows an unidentified man who says he is representing Shekau, who had allegedly been ousted by the ISIL (Daesh / ISIS) group to which Boko Haram pledged allegiance in March 2015.

Nigerian soldiers, with the support of regional troops, have recaptured swathes of territory lost to the militants since they launched a military campaign in February 2014.

The mass kidnapping of schoolgirls from the remote town of Chibok provoked global outrage and brought unprecedented attention to Boko Haram and its bloody quest to establish full control over Northeastern Nigeria.

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