Abu-Bilal Al Minuki, the second in command of Islamic State globally, has been killed in an operation conducted by US and Nigerian forces in the northeast of the African country, President Donald Trump and his counterpart in Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, said.
Trump announced the strike in a Truth Social post late on Friday in the US, with Tinubu yesterday describing it as a ‘significant example of effective collaboration in the fight against terrorism’.
“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. Abu-Bilal Al Minuki... thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing,” Trump said on Truth Social.
In a statement posted on X, Tinubu said early assessments confirmed the elimination of Al Minuki – also known as Abu-Mainok – along with several of his lieutenants, during a strike on his compound in the Lake Chad Basin.
Tinubu said Nigerian forces worked closely with the US military in what he called a daring joint operation that dealt a heavy blow to the ranks of the Islamic State.
Trump, who has previously accused Nigeria of failing to protect Christians from Islamist militants, thanked the Nigerian government for its partnership in the operation.
The Nigerian Army said the strike was carried out in Metele in Borno State, where troops carried out a precision air-land operation in close co-ordination with US Africa Command.
Borno has endured an insurgency waged by Boko Haram and its splinter group Islamic State West Africa Province for 17 years that has killed thousands and displaced two million people.
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