U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday that Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, the second-in-command of ISIS globally, was killed in a joint operation conducted by American and Nigerian forces.
Operation Details
In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated, "Tonight, at my direction, brave American forces and the Armed Forces of Nigeria flawlessly executed a meticulously planned and very complex mission to eliminate the most active terrorist in the world from the battlefield." He added, "Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in command of ISIS globally, thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing."
Trump did not disclose the exact location of the operation. Al-Minuki, a Nigerian national, was designated as a "specially designated global terrorist" by the former Biden administration in 2023, according to the U.S. Federal Register.
US-Nigeria Partnership
Trump thanked the Nigerian government for its partnership in the operation. He has previously accused Nigeria of failing to protect Christians from Islamist militants in the northwest. Nigeria denies discriminating against any religion, stating that its security forces target armed groups that attack both Christians and Muslims.
The U.S. had previously carried out strikes targeting ISIS-linked militants in Nigeria in December. Since then, Washington has deployed drones and 200 troops to provide training and intelligence support to the Nigerian military against Islamic State and al Qaeda-linked insurgencies spreading across West Africa. Nigerian military officials earlier this year said that U.S. forces were operating in a strictly non-combat role.
