US, Nigeria kill senior ISIS leader in joint operation
Washington and Abuja have dealt a major blow to the Islamic State group with the elimination of Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described by President Donald Trump as the “second in command of ISIS globally.”
The operation, carried out by American and Nigerian forces, targeted al-Minuki’s compound in the Lake Chad Basin, killing him and several of his lieutenants. Trump praised the “flawlessly executed” mission, adding that al-Minuki “will no longer terrorize the people of Africa.”
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu confirmed the strike, calling it a heavy blow to the terrorist network. Al-Minuki, a Sahel-based senior leader, had been under US sanctions since 2023.
Officials linked him to IS operations across West Africa and the 2018 Dapchi schoolgirls kidnapping.
His death disrupts funding and command structures, greatly diminishing the group’s global reach, Trump said. The operation highlights growing US-Nigeria military cooperation, which has intensified as Abuja fights extremist violence.
Tinubu defended the partnership, stating: “You cannot operate the world in isolation.” The killing follows the 2019 death of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
