US and Nigerian forces kill senior IS leader in Africa

US President Donald Trump confirms the death of Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, the second-in-command of Islamic State group, in a joint operation with Nigeria.

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Friday that American and Nigerian forces had killed a senior Islamic State group leader.

“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 said on Truth Social.

“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 added.

Al-Minuki had been placed under US sanctions in 2023 for ties to the Islamic State group, which maintains a major presence in parts of West Africa.

“He will no longer terrorize the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans,” Trump said. “With his removal, ISIS’s global operation is greatly diminished.”

Trump thanked the government of Nigeria for their “partnership” on the operation.

Nigerian forces are battling militancy, including regional offshoots of the IS organisation as well as Islamist rival Boko Haram. It has also carried out strikes and operations against non-ideological violent gangs known as “bandits”.

Since late 2025, the Nigerian government has been under pressure from the United States, which has accused it of not doing enough to combat the Islamist militant threat.

On Christmas Day, the United States, in collaboration with Nigerian authorities, carried out airstrikes in northwestern Sokoto State targeting fighters from the Islamic State in the Sahel (ISSP), usually active in neighbouring Niger.

Washington has since deployed hundreds of troops to Nigeria to support and train its forces.

Trump did not provide details on the form of attack that killed al-Minuki, whether US forces had carried out air strikes or where the militant leader had been targeted.

The US State Department, when announcing al-Minuki’s designation on the American government list of “global terrorists” in 2023, called him a Sahel-based IS senior leader and part of its General Directorate of Provinces, the group’s administrative body that provides “operational guidance and funding around the world.”