Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, was seriously wounded in a suicide attempt to avoid capture by rival jihadists in northeastern Nigeria, two sources close to the intelligence services said on Thursday.
One of the sources told AFP that after being surrounded in clashes with members of the Islamic State in West Africa (Iswap) and "to avoid capture, Shekau shot himself in the chest, and the bullet went through his shoulder."
"He was seriously wounded," the source said, adding that some of his fighters managed to escape and took him with them.
A second intelligence source told AFP that Shekau was severely wounded after activating explosives in the house where he and his men had taken refuge.