President Donald Trump said Friday that Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described as the second-in-command of ISIS globally, was killed in a joint operation conducted by U.S. and Nigerian forces.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the operation was carried out “at my direction” and described the mission as “meticulously planned” and “very complex.”
Trump said al-Minuki ” thought he could hide in Africa,” but U.S. intelligence sources tracked his movements.
“With his removal, ISIS’s global operation is greatly diminished,” he added.
Who Was Abu-Bilal al-Minuki?
Al-Minuki, a Nigerian national, was designated a “specially designated global terrorist” by the Biden administration in 2023, according to the U.S. Federal Register.
He was born in 1982 in the northeastern Nigerian state of Borno, which borders Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
He had been placed under U.S. sanctions in 2023 for ties to the Islamic State group, which has a major presence in parts of West Africa.
Trump described him as “the most active terrorist in the world,” though the White House did not immediately release additional operational details or evidence supporting that characterization.
The exact location of the operation was also not disclosed.
Growing US Counterterrorism Presence In Nigeria
The announcement comes months after the U.S. carried out strikes targeting Islamic State-linked militants in Nigeria in December.
Since then, the U.S. has deployed drones and around 200 troops to Nigeria to provide intelligence and training support to local forces combating Islamic State and al Qaeda-linked insurgencies across West Africa.
Trump also thanked the Nigerian government for its cooperation in the mission.
The country has grappled with national security problems for years, especially in its northern regions.
Image via Shutterstock
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