'Invincible' Boko Haram leader reportedly killed in Nigerian raid

[Valin]

Long Wars Journal:

11/17/12

 

Two days ago, Nigerian security forces claimed to have killed a top Boko Haram militant commander and six of his "lieutenants" in the northeastern city of Maiduguri. Ibn Saleh Ibrahim, a lead suspect in last month's assassination of retired war hero General Mohammed Shuwa at his Gwange residence, was reportedly killed along with six of his associates during a fierce clash with the Nigerian Joint Task Force (JTF) and State Security Services (SSS). Boko Haram has not yet commented on whether Ibn Saleh Ibrahim has been killed.

 

Nigerian military officials have indicated that Ibn Saleh Ibrahim was a close confidant of Abubaker Shekau, the alleged emir of Boko Haram, and that he had a reputation for "invincibility," according to the AfricaNews Monitoring Team and the BBC.

 

(Snip)

 

If confirmed, the death of Ibn Saleh Ibrahim will mark the latest blow against Boko Haram, which has already sustained a series of blows conducted by the JTF and SSS elements in northeastern Nigeria. Nigerian officials have often prematurely claimed the capture or death of senior Boko Haram commanders, however.

 

(Snip)

 

I do not think invincible means what it used to mean.