[Bosky Oga At The Top] Is Muhammad Shekau Dead?

Abubakar Muhammad Shekau, who Nigeria's military said may have been killed, has led Boko Haram through three years of a brutal insurgency, reportedly masterminding gruesome attacks that left hundreds dead.

The military said there was evidence Shekau might have been mortally wounded in a gunbattle between July 25 and August 3 in the northeast, but the security forces were still seeking confirmation.

Little is known about the shadowy insurgent commander, even if he has appeared in a series of video messages, claiming credit for attacks on both Muslims and Christians, while voicing support for the massacre of students.

Designated a global terrorist by the United States, which put a $7 million (5.3 million euro) bounty on his head, Shekau has repeatedly denounced the West, insisting his deadly insurgency is aimed at creating an Islamic state in northern Nigeria.

In a video message obtained by AFP on August 12 and which the military says was a fake, Shekau appeared to address claims that he had been killed.

"You have not killed Shekau," the person says in the video, seated with a Kalashnikov resting on his right shoulder, a pose Shekau often adopted in such videos.

"We are in good health," he added.

Shekau's publicly released statements have included accusations of Muslims being persecuted in Nigeria, claims of Boko Haram's victories over the military and grotesque boastings.

"I enjoy killing anyone that God commands me to kill the way I enjoy killing chickens and rams," he said in a message released last year.

The US Justice Department lists 1965, 1969 and 1975 as possible years of the birth of the wanted Islamist commander. More: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/08/19/shekau-boko-haram-chief-who-again-may-be-dead/