The United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) announced on Monday that it had carried out fresh airstrikes against the Islamic State in northeastern Nigeria on Sunday. The operation was conducted in coordination with the Nigerian government, and AFRICOM confirmed that no U.S. or Nigerian forces were harmed during the strikes.
Background of the Operation
This latest action comes just days after President Donald Trump stated that a joint U.S.-Nigerian operation had killed a top leader of the Islamic State group in Nigeria. In a social media post, Trump revealed that the mission, which took place in the early hours of Saturday, targeted Abu Bakr al-Mainuki, a senior figure within the local IS chapter in West Africa.
Target: Abu Bakr al-Mainuki
Al-Mainuki was born in 1982 in Mainok (or Mainuki), a village in Nigeria's northeastern Borno state, the epicenter of an insurgency that began with the formation of Boko Haram around 2009. He later became a key commander of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) after it split from Boko Haram and served as a deputy to Abu Musab al-Barnawi, the ISWAP leader reported dead in 2021.
A Nigerian military spokesperson described al-Mainuki as a "key ISIS operational and strategic figure" who played a central role in the group's media operations, finances, and weapons development. Recent intelligence suggested he may have been appointed as "Head of the General Directorate of States," making him second-in-command within the global IS hierarchy—a claim also made by Trump but disputed by some analysts. In 2023, the U.S. Department of State designated him a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist."
U.S.-Nigeria Cooperation
The Nigerian government acknowledged that U.S. intelligence and cooperation were crucial to the operation. This marks a significant development after bilateral relations hit a low point last year when Trump accused the Nigerian government of "Christian genocide." Nigeria repeatedly denied the persecution of Christians and engaged with the U.S., leading to renewed military cooperation. In February, the U.S. sent troops to Nigeria following an airstrike targeting IS in December.
Government officials had previously stated that U.S. troops were limited to advisory and training roles, but analysts say this weekend's operation signals a new phase. "It would demonstrate to them [militants] that the American-Nigerian operation has really picked up," said Bulama Burkati, a security analyst specializing in sub-Saharan Africa. "We know the Nigerian forces lack the basic capacity to fight violent extremist groups, especially in places like the Lake Chad region, which is densely forested."
The Lake Chad Basin
Several armed groups operate in the resource-rich four-country Lake Chad region, funding their activities by taxing local communities. The region's dense forests provide ample cover for these groups to evade military strikes. The operation in the Lake Chad Basin, a stronghold of both Boko Haram and ISWAP, was the result of a recently formed partnership between the Nigerian and U.S. governments.
