Boko Haram Leader Dismisses Claims of His Death in New Video

Kano, Nigeria: Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau dismissed Nigerian military claims of his death in a new video obtained by AFP on Thursday and said the militants had implemented strict Islamic law in captured towns.

"Here I am, alive. I will only die the day Allah takes my breath," Shekau said in the 36-minute video, adding that his group was "running our... Islamic caliphate" and administering sharia punishments.

Nigeria's military said last week that Shekau was dead and that a man who had been posing as the group's leader in the videos had been shot dead after fighting with troops in the far northeast.