Nigerian police say they've arrested senior Boko Haram member. Read more....

Nigerian police have arrested a man
claiming to be Boko Haram's "chief butcher" in an
area identified as the Balmo Forest of
northeastern Nigeria.
Detectives arrested Mohammed Zakari, 30, as he
fled from what police and the military describe as
an intensive counterinsurgency sweep in the area.
Zakari is accused in connection with the deaths of
seven people, including women and children,
according to Nigerian police.
He is also accused of taking part in an April
attack against Nigerian customs officers in Kari,
police say.
Boko Haram is a fundamentalist Islamic militant
group based in northern Nigeria whose
name translates as "Western
education is forbidden." Its members
are accused in dozens of brutal
attacks against Nigerian government
offices, churches and schools since
2009.
Human Rights Watch said Tuesday the
group is responsible for at least 2,053
civilian deaths in 2014. The group
based its account on media reports
and field investigations.
"Boko Haram is effectively waging war
on the people of northeastern Nigeria
at a staggering human cost," said
Human Rights Watch West Africa
Director Corinne Dufka.
Malala to Boko Haram: Stop misusing
Islam
In May, the group abducted more than
200 girls from a boarding school in the
town of Chibok, setting off worldwide
condemnation of the group and prompting
Western nations to send troops and aid to the
region to help with the search for the missing
girls.
Last month, Boko Haram militants held residents
in the village of Kummabza hostage for four days,
abducting more than 60 females and killing 30
men. The women later escaped when militants left
them alone in a camp while they battled Nigerian
soldiers.
Nigerian troops have been conducting intensive
efforts against the group in northeastern Nigeria
for days, according to government statements
and Nigerian media reports.
The military said it has routed terrorists from the
Balmo Forest region and uncovered weapons
caches as well as uniforms worn by Nigerian
security services, according to Nigeria's Ministry
of Defence.
Some of the suspected terrorists captured during
the raid are "volunteering information linking the
activities in the forest with other terrorist
activities in the country," the Defence Ministry
said in a statement.
On the hunt for Boko Haram