Muslim Mohammed Yusuf, the 18-year-old son of late Boko Haram founder, Mohammed Yusuf, has been captured in Chad.

The suspect was reportedly captured alongside five other jihadists during a security operation by Chadian forces. Sources said he was leading a six-man cell linked to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a splinter faction of Boko Haram.

Exclusive photos obtained by counterinsurgency expert Zagazola Makama show a young, short and slender man in a blue tracksuit, bearing a striking resemblance to the late Boko Haram leader, standing among far older suspects.

Intelligence sources told Zagazola that Abdrahman is the younger brother of ISWAP leader, Habib Yusuf, also known as Abu Mus’ab Al-Barnawi.

Security sources in Chad confirmed the arrest of six suspected members of Boko Haram/ISWAP but declined to provide further details on their identities.

Mohammed Yusuf, founder of Boko Haram, was captured by the Nigerian military and later executed in police custody in Maiduguri on July 30, 2009.

The younger Yusuf, believed to have been born in Nigeria before the group’s insurgency escalated in 2009, is said to have been groomed into militancy and recently emerged as a field commander within ISWAP’s Lake Chad network.

“He and his team were arrested by Chadian security. They are six in number. He was the head of the cell.”

The arrest is seen as a major breakthrough in ongoing regional efforts to dismantle jihadist networks operating across the Lake Chad Basin. (Adapted from a report by Zagazola)