Donald Trump says American and Nigerian forces have killed ‘second in command of ISIS’ Abu-Bilal al-Minuki
Donald Trump has announced the death of ‘second in command of ISIS’ Abu-Bilal al-Minuki.
The US President said American and Nigerian forces killed “the most active terrorist in the world” after he was found hiding in Africa.
“He could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing,” Trump bragged in a post on Truth Social.
Al‑Minuki was declared a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by Washington in 2023. He was viewed as the key figure in Islamic State (IS) organising and finance, and had been plotting attacks against the US and its interests according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
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Nigerian President Bola Tinubu confirmed the operation and said Al-Minuki was killed alongside “several of his lieutenants, during a strike on his compound in the Lake Chad Basin.”
Al‑Minuki’s death comes following the killing of IS leader Abu Bakr al‑Baghdadi in 2019.
Trump’s post went on: “He will no longer terrorize the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans. With his removal, ISIS’s global operation is greatly diminished.”
The President also thanked the Nigerian government for its “partnership on this operation” and signed off the post with: “GOD BLESS AMERICA! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Born in Nigeria’s Borno province in 1982, al-Minuki took the helm of the IS branch in West Africa after the group’s previous leader in the region, Mamman Nur, was killed in 2018, according to the Counter Extremism Project.
Al-Minuki was based in the Sahel area, the monitoring group said, adding that it is believed that he fought in Libya when IS was active in the North African nation more than a decade ago.
Nigeria has been battling multiple armed groups, including at least two affiliated with IS, as it has grappled with a multifaceted security crisis. IS affiliates in Africa have emerged as some of the continent’s most active militant groups following the collapse of the IS caliphate in Syria and Iraq in 2017.
