ISIS leader in West Africa killed

Africa prepares for all types of scenarios after the killing of Abu Musab al-Barnawi, the leader of the Islamic State branch in West Africa.

The continent is afraid of the reaction Barnawi's organization will make to his killing.

Apprehensions in this regard compound fears from the organization, which have been piling up over the years.

African countries were shuddering at the growing influence of the branch of the Islamic State in West Africa.

Death

Barnawi's death was declared on October 14.

His real name is Habib Yusuf. He was born in 1994. He was the eldest son of Muhammad Yusuf, the founder of the Boko Haram group, according to the Nigerian army.

The army's chief of staff confirmed Barnawi's death.

"It is that simple: he is dead and will remain dead," he said.

However, he did not any additional details about the death of the leader of the branch of the Islamic State in West Africa.

Boko Haram has been waging a bloody insurgency in northeastern Nigeria since 2009.

Barnawi became famous when he defected from the group in 2016, following a conflict with the group's leader, Abu Bakr Shekau, who was killed earlier this year during internal battles between the two factions.

Barnawi consolidated is control over ISIS West Africa in northeastern Nigeria and the Lake Chad region since Shekau's.

However, he met resistance from pockets loyal to Boko Haram.

Over 40,000 people have been killed in Nigeria's conflict so far.

The conflict has also displaced around 2 million people.

Under Barnawi, ISIS West Africa turned into a dominant terrorist force in the Nigerian conflict.

It repeatedly targeted soldiers as part of the insurgency it has been mounting since 2009.