Security forces in Chad have arrested six suspected members of the Boko Haram terrorist group, including Muslim Mohammed Yusuf, the son of the sect’s late founder, Mohammed Yusuf.
A Nigerian intelligence source operating in the Lake Chad region confirmed the arrests to AFP over the weekend, disclosing that a six-man jihadist cell was intercepted in Chad during a security operation.
Muslim Yusuf, who is believed to have maintained ties with splinter cells loyal to both Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), was reportedly among those taken into custody.
The arrest is considered a significant breakthrough in ongoing counterterrorism operations in the Lake Chad Basin, where Boko Haram insurgents have continued to launch cross-border attacks on military and civilian targets.
Authorities in Chad have not yet released official details on the operation, but regional security analysts say the development could further weaken the group’s command structure.
The late Mohammed Yusuf founded Boko Haram in 2002 in Maiduguri, Borno State, before he was killed in police custody in 2009. Since then, the group has waged a violent insurgency that has claimed over 35,000 lives and displaced millions across northeastern Nigeria and the wider Lake Chad region.
