Nigeria's militant Islamist leader Abubakar Shekau may have been killed by the security forces during a shoot-out, an army spokesman has said.
An "intelligence report" showed that Shekau, the leader of the Boko Haram group, may have died between 25 July and 3 August, Lt-Col Sagir Musa said.
Boko Haram, which has waged an insurgency in Nigeria since 2009, has not commented on the statement.
The US had put a bounty of $7m (�4.6m) on Shekau's head.
'Imposter'
The intelligence report suggested that Shekau was shot on 30 June, when soldiers raided a Boko Haram base at Sambisa Forest in north-eastern Nigeria.
"Shekau was mortally wounded in the encounter and was sneaked into Amitchide - a border community in Cameroon for treatment... It is greatly believed that Shekau might have died between 25 July to 3 August 2013," Col Musa said.
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