The government of Mozambique says its armed forces have killed the leader of a jihadist group linked to Islamic State which is fighting in the north of the country.
Two years ago, the US state department designated Omar as a terrorist leader, blaming him for attacks in Cabo Delgado province, including the killing of dozens of people at a hotel in Palma.
A month before that, Mozambique’s military launched a major offensive against the Islamists with the support of hundreds of soldiers from Rwanda and several southern African countries.
According to the government, Omar and two associates from the Islamic State-linked group were killed in a forest in Macomia in an operation carried out with the army’s foreign allies.
The gas and ruby-rich province of Cabo Delgado has been a magnet for Islamists seeking to exploit its lucrative natural resources.
Rights groups say since the conflict began more than five years ago, civilians have suffered horrendous abuses from government security forces and jihadist fighters.
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