The Niger army announced on Thursday that it killed a leader of the jihadist group Boko Haram, Bakura, in a "surgical operation" in the Lake Chad basin last week. Bakura led a splinter group loyal to former Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, refusing to join the rival faction Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

• The insurgency has resulted in approximately 40,000 deaths and displaced over two million people.
• Bakura, whose real name was Ibrahim Mahamadu, was targeted by a fighter jet early on August 15 in Shilawa.
• He was reportedly about 40 years old, from Nigeria, and took leadership after Shekau’s death in May 2021.