United States President Donald Trump has announced that American and Nigerian forces have killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, the second-in-command of ISIS globally, in a joint military operation conducted inside Nigeria.
Trump made the announcement late Friday in a post on his Truth Social platform, saying the mission was carried out at his direction.
“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,” Trump wrote.
“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. He will no longer terrorize the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans,” Trump added.
Trump also thanked the Nigerian government for its cooperation in the mission, saying: “With his removal, ISIS’s global operation is greatly diminished.”
Al-Minuki, also identified as Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Ali al-Mainuki, was considered one of the top-ranking figures within the ISIS leadership structure and allegedly functioned as the organisation’s global deputy commander.
He was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of State in 2023 under Executive Order 13224, which targets individuals and organisations linked to terrorism financing and activities.
According to the Counter Extremism Project, al-Mainuki primarily operated across the Sahel region in Africa, spanning nearly 12 countries.
He served as a senior commander of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and oversaw operations connected to the Lake Chad division under ISIS’s General Directorate of Provinces.
The operation comes after the U.S. struck what it said were Islamist bases in northwestern Nigeria on Christmas Day last year, following Trump’s accusations that Christians in Nigeria were being persecuted, which the Government denied.
Following those Christmas strikes, the U.S. reportedly sent small teams of troops to Nigeria on multiple occasions in pursuit of ISIS targets.
The Pentagon and Nigerian military authorities had not issued detailed independent confirmations as of Saturday morning.
The operation is being described as a significant blow to ISIS’s global leadership structure.
