Chad police arrests son of Boko Haram founder with 5 other jihadists

Authorities in Chad have arrested Muslim Mohammed Yusuf, the 18-year-old son of Boko Haram founder Mohammed Yusuf, alongside five alleged accomplices linked to the terrorist group Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

A Nigerian intelligence source shared the news of the arrests with AFP on Monday, including a photo showing the six detainees - one of whom bore a ”striking” resemblance to the founder of Boko Haram.

18-year-old Muslim Mohammed Yusuf is the youngest son of the radical Nigerian preacher Mohammed Yusuf, who in the early 2000s founded the violent Islamist group Boko Haram.

Muslim Yusuf was still a baby when his father was killed in 2009 in an army operation that left hundreds dead in Borno State, in Northern Nigeria.

In adulthood, the younger Yusuf allegedly joined a local branch of the terrorist group ISWAP – a splinter-faction of Boko Haram – led by his older brother Abu Musab El Barnawi.

The Chadian police confirmed the arrest of "bandits," and "members of Boko Haram" to AFP, without confirming that one of them is the son of the group's founder.

Boko Haram is behind a string of deadly attacks centered around Northeastern Nigeria, that has intensified in recent months.

In June, 12 people were killed when a suspected female suicide bomber connected to the terrorist group detonated her explosives at a market.