ABUJA, Nigeria, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- A senior leader of the Boko Haram militant group, alleged to be behind bomb attacks on Christian churches in Nigeria, was captured, a security source said.
A source with the Nigeria Joint Task Force told CNN he wouldn't identify the suspect and he didn't want to be identified either.
"We are all afraid of the Boko Haram -- even we -- security officials," the source said. "People don't want us to say anything about Boko Haram for the fear that they will be killed."
The arrest happened Saturday afternoon at the house of a senator in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, the report said.
Nigeria is predominantly Christian in the south and Muslim in the north, where the Boko Haram group is demanding the imposition of Sharia law.
In some of its most recent releases, the group has begun referring to itself as the Nigerian Taliban. Its name translates to "Western education is sinful."
There are intelligence concerns in Washington the group is aligning itself with al-Qaida factions in neighboring northeastern African countries, CNN said.
