The leader of Nigeria’s terrorist group, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), Abu Musab Al-Barnawi has been killed.
Sources told Daily Trust that Al-Barnawi was killed in the last week of August 2021, in Borno State, which has remained the worst-hit state from terrorists’ attacks in the North-East part of Nigeria.
Al-Barnawi, son of Boko Haram founder, Mohammed Yusuf, who was killed by security forces in 2009, separated from the late Abubakar Shekau-led Boko Haram to become the leader of the Islamic State (IS) militant group’s West African affiliate, ISWAP, in 2016.
Who killed Al-Barnawi
According to the newspaper, there are two versions of the story of Al-Barnawi’s death. While one of the versions claims he was killed by Nigerian troops, the other version says he died during a rival war within the ISWAP camp.
The first version revolved around the information shared among some security operatives in the theatre of operation, which indicated that he was ambushed by troops during which four or five top ISWAP leaders and many foot terrorists loyal to him were also killed.
A source told the paper that Al-Barnawi was killed around Bula Yobe, a community near the Borno/Yobe states border along Mobbar and Abadam axis that leads to the Lake Chad area.
Another source said he was ambushed and killed at a place that could be accessed from Yale, Bama, Banki junction through the Kashimbri-Gulumba.
The source, claiming he was killed as a result of leadership tussle explained that the battle of supremacy with ISWAP climaxed between August 14 and 26, 2021, and that the fight had claimed many commanders on both sides.
There is also claims that a camp in ISWAP opposed to Al-Barnawi’s leadership mobilised some terrorists from Central Africa to overthrow him and succeeded.