Abu musab al barnawi new boko haram leader

Abu Musab al-Barnawi is a Nigerian militant Islamist leader who was announced as the new leader of the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), also known as the Islamic State's West Africa branch, in August 2016.

Al-Barnawi, whose real name is Abubakar Shekau, was a former leader of the Boko Haram terrorist group, which was founded in 2002. He was a key figure in the group's early years and was known for his brutal tactics and ability to evade capture.

In 2016, al-Barnawi broke away from Boko Haram and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, which had previously been led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Al-Barnawi's faction, which was known as the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), was seen as a more radical and violent group than Boko Haram, and it quickly gained notoriety for its attacks on civilians and military targets in Nigeria and other countries in the region.

Under al-Barnawi's leadership, ISWAP has been responsible for numerous attacks, including the kidnapping of hundreds of schoolgirls in Chibok, Nigeria, in 2014, and the bombing of a mosque in Maiduguri, Nigeria, in 2017. The group has also been accused of using child soldiers and committing human rights abuses.

Al-Barnawi's leadership of ISWAP has been marked by a series of power struggles and internal conflicts, which have weakened the group's ability to carry out attacks. In 2018, a faction of ISWAP led by Abu Musab al-Barnawi's brother, Abu Fatima al-Masri, broke away from the group and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State's central leadership in Syria.

Despite these challenges, ISWAP remains a significant threat to regional security, and al-Barnawi's leadership has been seen as a major factor in the group's ability to continue to carry out attacks and recruit new members.