United States President Donald Trump has announced that American and Nigerian forces carried out a joint operation that killed a senior leader of the Islamic State.
Trump disclosed the development on Friday in a statement posted on Truth Social, describing the mission as a “meticulously planned and very complex operation” conducted in partnership with Nigerian security forces.
According to the US president, the operation targeted Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, whom he described as the second-in-command of ISIS globally.
“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 stated.
He added that al-Minuki had attempted to hide in Africa but was tracked through intelligence sources.
Trump said the militant leader would “no longer terrorize the people of Africa or help plan operations to target Americans,” adding that his death significantly weakened ISIS’s global operations.
The US president also thanked the Nigerian government for its cooperation and partnership during the mission.
Abu-Bilal al-Minuki was placed under US sanctions in 2023 over alleged links to the Islamic State group. At the time, the US State Department identified him as a senior ISIS leader operating in the Sahel region and a member of the group’s General Directorate of Provinces, which oversees operational guidance and funding activities worldwide.
The statement did not disclose the exact location of the operation or specify whether airstrikes or ground forces were used.
Nigeria has continued to battle insurgency and terrorism involving extremist groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State-affiliated factions operating in parts of the country and the wider West African region.
The Nigerian military has also intensified operations against armed criminal groups commonly referred to as bandits.
In recent months, the United States has increased security cooperation with Nigeria, including intelligence sharing, military training, and joint counterterrorism operations.
In December 2025, US and Nigerian forces reportedly conducted coordinated airstrikes against fighters linked to the Islamic State in the Sahel in Sokoto State.
Washington has since expanded military support efforts in Nigeria as part of broader regional counterterrorism initiatives.
