ABUJA -?The wife of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau appeared to have been killed in a recent airstrike, the Nigerian air force said on Wednesday.

"Human intelligence" indicated the death of Malama Fitdasi Shekau, wife of Abubakar Shekau, believed to be the supreme commander of the ruthless terror group, said Olatokunbo Adesanya, spokesperson for the air force.

She was feared killed while representing her husband in a coordinating meeting on Oct 19 with other terrorists at the location of the military airstrike, the spokesperson said.

"Battle damage assessment had indeed revealed that the aerial attack set off a fire, causing damage to the insurgents' structures within the settlement," he said.

The airstrike killed most of the Boko Haram fighters at the site, but a few of them fled, the spokesman said.

Nigeria has made a considerable gain in fighting the terror group, dislodging Boko Haram fighters from the Sambisa Forest, the group's largest training camp in the country.

Boko Haram has been blamed for the death of more than 20,000 people and the displacement of 2.3 million others in Nigeria since 2009.