The two terrorists captured are Mahmud Muhammad Usman (a.k.a. Abu Bara’a) and Mahmud al-Nigeri (a.k.a. Mallam Mamuda).

The commendation by the United States was given in the X handle of its Mission in Nigeria.

The posts reads: “We commend the Nigerian Government and security forces on the successful arrest of wanted #Ansaru leaders, Mahmud Muhammad Usman (aka Abu Bara’a) and Mahmud al-Nigeri (aka Mallam Mamuda). This is a significant forward in Nigeria’s fight against terrorism and extremism.”

FrontPage reports that Nigeria recorded a significant breakthrough in the war against terrorism with the capture of the leaders of Ansaru and Mahmuda.

Briefing the press on Saturday, the National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, said the two terrorists on the wanted list of Nigeria, the US, UK and UN were captured in an operation which was conducted between May and July 2025.

He said the men were captured in a high-risk, intelligence-led, counter-terrorism operation which led to their capture.

Ribadu said the two men had been responsible for masterminding many terrorist attacks against Nigeria over the past years.

Said Ribadu: “The first is Mahmud Muhammad Usman (aka Abu Bara’a/Abbas/Mukhtar), the self-styled Emir of ANSARU. He is the coordinator of various terrorist sleeper cells across Nigeria. He is also the mastermind of several high-profile kidnappings and armed robberies used to finance terrorism over the years.

“The second is Mahmud al-Nigeri (aka Mallam Mamuda), Abu Bara’s proclaimed Chief of Staff and Deputy. He is the leader of the so-called “Mahmudawa” cell hiding out in and around the Kainji National Park, straddling Niger and Kwara States up to Benin Republic. Mamuda trained in Libya between 2013 and 2015 under foreign jihadist instructors from Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria, specialising in weapons handling and IED fabrication.

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“These two men have been on Nigeria’s most-wanted list for years. They jointly spearheaded multiple attacks on civilians, security forces, and critical infrastructure. Their operations include the 2022 Kuje prison break, the attack on the Niger uranium facility, the 2013 abduction of French engineer Francis Collomp in Katsina, and the May 1, 2019 kidnapping of Alhaji Musa Umar Uba (Magajin Garin Daura). They were also behind the abduction of the Emir of Wawa and they maintain active links with terrorist groups across the Maghreb, particularly in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.

“The two men, who are wanted internationally, are currently in custody.

“The capture of Abu Bara and Mallam Mamuda, the group’s leader and deputy commander, respectively, marks one of the most significant achievements to date in our ongoing effort to rid Nigeria of the threat of terrorism. The successful decapitation of the leadership of this dangerous franchise marks the most decisive blow against ANSARU since its inception. This strike has effectively dismantled its central command while paving the path for the complete annihilation of the group.”

The Ansaru group was first formed in January 2012 with a public declaration in Kano.

It emerged as a splinter faction from Boko Haram, positioning itself as a “humane alternative.”

However, its stated aim quickly turned to attacking Nigerian security operatives, civilian communities and government infrastructure.

The group publicly displayed the setting sun logo of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb , AQIM, signalling its ideological and operational alignment with global jihadist movements.

“Over the years, Ansaru entrenched itself in both urban sleeper cells and forest enclaves across several cities in northern Nigeria and in forest-based enclaves, particularly around Kainji National Park, straddling Niger and Kwara States, as well as the Benin Republic,” Ribadu explained.

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Marking the 21st anniversary of the attacks, the book was written by Abu Muhammad al-Masri, a senior Al-Qaeda member who was reportedly killed in Iran in 2020.

In the nearly 250-page volume, he said that al-Qaeda had been preparing for an attack targeting U.S. interests since it set foot in Afghanistan in 1996, with the goal of dragging the U.S. into a long-term war of attrition.

The initial idea came up when an Egyptian pilot suggested flying a civilian plane carrying thousands of gallons of flammable material into “an important and symbolic American building,” according to the book shared online by al-Qaeda’s media arm, As-Sahab.

Some militants were chosen for further combat training in 1998 and then enrolled in aviation schools in different parts of the world.

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in Afghanistan in a targeted U.S. airstrike more than a month ago.

Al-Zawahiri took over in 2011 after Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. special forces at his hideout in Pakistan.

The terrorist group has not named a new leader yet.

On September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four planes and crashed them into several locations in the U.S.

The attacks sparked the U.S.-led military intervention in Afghanistan.

Source: dpa/NAN

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Toure’s life in many ways symbolised the stop-start nature of democracy in Mali, where his successor, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, was overthrown in another coup this August.

Widely known by his initials ATT, Toure led an army coup in 1991 against military ruler Moussa Traore, who had violently suppressed anti-government protests.

Toure organised democratic elections the following year and handed over power to a civilian president, earning him the nickname of “Soldier of Democracy.”

He died in Turkey on Monday night, his chief of staff, Seydou Cissouma, told Reuters, providing no further details.

Jeune Afrique reported the former president was flown to Turkey after undergoing a heart operation in Bamako.

“A major actor in Malian democracy, ATT, over the course of his exceptional life, contributed to shaping a modern Mali,” interim president Bah N’Daw said in a statement.

Toure returned to the presidency in 2002, winning election with nearly 65% of the vote, and was re-elected to a final five-year term in 2007.

During his presidency, Mali won international praise as a regional model of democracy for its regular elections and relatively free press.

Toure was planning to step down when his second term expired in 2012.

But his authority was weakened by high-level corruption, armed opposition in the desert north and a perception among some Malians that elections were not as free and fair as international observers suggested.

That ultimately led to the March 2012 coup by mid-ranking officers, followed by the fall of northern Mali to jihadist militants later that year.

Despite intervention by French forces in 2013 to help the government retake the north, militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State have since expanded their foothold in Mali and other countries in the region.

Source: Reuters

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