Daijiworld Media Network - Washington
Washington, May 16: US President Donald Trump has announced that Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described as the second-in-command of ISIS globally, has been killed in a joint operation conducted by American and Nigerian forces.
In a statement posted on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said the operation was carried out under his direction and involved coordinated action between US forces and the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
“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 further claimed that Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, also referred to in some reports as Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Ali al-Mainuki, served as the second-highest-ranking leader of the Islamic State Islamic State and was responsible for coordinating global operations.
Trump added that the militant believed he could hide in Africa, but intelligence sources had been tracking his movements. “He will no longer terrorise the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans. With his removal, ISIS’s global operation is greatly diminished,” he said.
The US President also thanked the Nigerian government for its cooperation during the mission.
According to available reports, al-Minuki was considered a senior figure within ISIS’s leadership hierarchy and allegedly functioned as a global deputy commander. He had previously been sanctioned by the US Department of State in 2023 under Executive Order 13224, which targets individuals linked to terrorism financing and activities.
Security and counterterrorism assessments indicate that he primarily operated across Africa’s Sahel region, a vast and volatile zone spanning multiple countries. He was also believed to have held a senior command role within the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), overseeing operations linked to the Lake Chad Basin under ISIS’s broader provincial structure.