U.S. President Donald Trump said American and Nigerian forces had killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, whom he described as the global second-in-command of ISIS, during a joint military operation in Africa.
In a statement posted Friday on Truth Social, Trump said the operation was carried out by U.S. special forces alongside the Nigerian military and described it as a “meticulously planned and very complex mission.”
“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,” Trump wrote.
Trump claimed al-Minuki had been “the most active terrorist in the world” and said his death would significantly weaken ISIS operations globally. He also thanked the Nigerian government for cooperating in the mission.
No further operational details were immediately released by the White House, Pentagon or U.S. Africa Command, and Nigerian authorities had not publicly commented by Saturday morning. Reuters could not independently verify the claim or the exact location of the operation.
Several reports identified al-Minuki as a senior figure linked to ISIS-West Africa networks operating across Nigeria and the wider Sahel region. Some Nigerian media previously named him in U.S. sanctions documents under the alias Abu Bakr al-Mainuki.
The announcement comes months after U.S. strikes targeted suspected ISIS positions in northwestern Nigeria during the Christmas period, following repeated criticism from Trump over attacks on Christian communities in the country. Nigerian officials have rejected claims of state-backed persecution.
Nigeria continues to battle multiple armed groups, including Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa Province (ISWAP), particularly in the country’s northeast and northwest regions.