By Ghazali Ibrahim
United States President Donald Trump has announced the killing of a senior ISIS commander during a joint military operation carried out by American and Nigerian forces in the Lake Chad Basin.
Trump disclosed this on Friday in a post on his Truth Social platform, identifying the slain militant as Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, whom he described as the “second in command of ISIS globally.”
According to the US president, the operation was “meticulously planned” and successfully executed with the support of the Nigerian Armed Forces.
Trump claimed the terrorist leader had been coordinating extremist activities and planning attacks targeting Africa and Western interests.
“Brave American forces and the Armed Forces of Nigeria flawlessly executed a meticulously planned and very complex mission,” Trump wrote, adding that the operation had significantly weakened ISIS’s global network.
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu also confirmed the operation, saying al-Minuki and several of his lieutenants were killed during a strike on their hideout in the Lake Chad region.
Reports said al-Minuki, a Nigerian national from Borno State, had been under United States sanctions since 2023 over his links to ISIS operations across Africa’s Sahel region. The US State Department had earlier designated him a global terrorist and accused him of helping coordinate funding and operations for ISIS affiliates worldwide.
Security analysts described the development as a major blow to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), one of the deadliest extremist groups operating in the Lake Chad Basin and parts of West Africa.
The latest operation highlights growing military cooperation between Nigeria and the United States in the fight against terrorism, following recent deployments of American military advisers and intelligence support to Nigeria.
