Trump says – President Trump said U.S. and Nigerian forces killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki in a “meticulously planned and very complex mission,” portraying the strike as a major blow to ISIS’s global leadership and operations.
When President Trump posted that U.S. and Nigerian forces killed an Islamic State leader in Nigeria, the message landed with the force of a rare, direct claim from the White House about a high-level counterterrorism success.
Trump announced Friday evening that Abu-Bilal al-Minuki—whom he called “the Islamic State’s second-in-command globally” and “the most active terrorist in the world”—was killed in what he described as a “meticulously planned and very complex mission.” In the post. Trump wrote that al-Minuki “will no longer terrorize the people of Africa. or help plan operations to target Americans. ” adding that “with his removal. ISIS’s global operation is greatly diminished.”
The president’s account matches the U.S.. government’s past portrayal of al-Minuki as a senior figure within ISIS’s operations in Africa.. A native of Nigeria, al-Minuki was described by the U.S.. State Department in 2023 as a leader of ISIS in the group’s Africa Sahel region.. At that time. the State Department said he served as a senior official in one of ISIS’s General Directorate of Provinces offices. which it said “provide operational guidance and funding around the world.”
The U.S. also moved to isolate him financially. Al-Minuki was placed on the Treasury Department’s specially designated global terrorist list in 2023, triggering steep sanctions.
Trump’s announcement came as the Islamic State’s footprint remains a persistent security concern across the Middle East and Africa.. While the group was pushed out of large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria beginning in 2017—after the U.S.. regional allies. Iran and other forces wrested those areas from ISIS—U.S.-designated ISIS and affiliated groups have continued carrying out insurgent attacks in parts of the region and beyond.
In West Africa. ISIS’s branches have been active in Nigeria and the Sahel. particularly in Burkina Faso. Mali and Niger.. Suspected attacks by the Islamic State have been reported in all four countries in recent months. including an offensive on a military base in Nigeria and clashes with other Islamist groups. according to the International Crisis Group.
This is not the first time Trump has tied U.S. action to ISIS targets in Nigeria. The president ordered an earlier round of strikes on Islamic State targets in Nigeria on Christmas Day last year, when the U.S. military’s Africa Command said “multiple ISIS terrorists” were killed in camps.
Last fall. Trump pressed Nigeria to take more action against terrorism. accusing the country of failing to deal with rampant violence against Christians.. The Nigerian government has denied that the country allows religious persecution. and analysts say large numbers of Muslims and Christians have been harmed by insurgency in northern Nigeria.
With Friday’s announcement, Trump is signaling that the U.S. sees the Sahel and West Africa—where ISIS affiliates continue to operate—as a live counterterrorism front, and that striking senior ISIS figures remains central to its approach.
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