US and Nigerian forces killed a senior ISIS commander on Friday, President Donald Trump stated, in an operation he claimed had “greatly diminished” the militant group’s energy.
“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 in a Truth Social post late Friday ET.
The president named the goal as “Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in command of ISIS globally,” including: “He will no longer terrorize the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans.”
According to documents from the US Office of Foreign Assets Control, al-Minuki was born in 1982 within the northeastern Nigerian state of Borno, which borders Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
Trump didn’t specify the place the assault occurred. He stated al-Minuki “thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing.”
He additionally thanked the Nigerian authorities for its cooperation, and stated “with his removal, ISIS’s global operation is greatly diminished.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that the US had for months “hunted this top ISIS leader in Nigeria who was killing Christians, and we killed him — and his entire posse.”
“Operations like last night’s demonstrate the exceptional lethality, patience and skill of U.S. forces, amplified alongside willing and capable partners, to address shared threats,” Hegseth added.
Nigeria’s State House, the workplace of the President of Nigeria, additionally confirmed the operation in an announcement. Nigerian and US forces “conducted a daring joint operation that dealt a heavy blow to the ranks of the Islamic State,” it stated.
“Early assessments confirm the elimination of the wanted IS senior leader, Abu-Bilal Al-Manuki, also known as Abu-Mainok, along with several of his lieutenants, during a strike on his compound in the Lake Chad Basin,” it added.
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu thanked Trump in an announcement Saturday morning.
“Nigeria appreciates this partnership with the United States in advancing our shared security objectives,” he wrote on social media. “I extend my sincere gratitude to President Trump for his leadership and unwavering support in this effort.”
It isn’t the primary deadly strike Trump has ordered on alleged ISIS militants in Nigeria, whom he has accused of persecuting Christians within the West African nation.
In December, Trump said he had directed a “powerful and deadly strike against ISIS” in northwestern Nigeria, who he stated had been killing harmless Christians.
A month prior, Trump stated he was considering navy motion in response to what he claimed was a “mass slaughter” of Christians by Islamist insurgents.
The Nigerian authorities on the time rejected claims that it isn’t doing sufficient to guard Christians from violence, saying it was bewildered by Trump’s suggestion of a possible navy intervention.
Christians and Muslims make up the 2 most important spiritual teams in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and residence to an estimated 237.5 million.
Experts and analysts say the truth on the bottom is nuanced, with each teams falling sufferer to assaults by radical Islamists.
The nation has grappled for years with deep-rooted safety issues pushed by varied elements, together with religiously motivated assaults.
Observers say different violent conflicts come up from communal and ethnic tensions, in addition to disputes between farmers and herders over restricted entry to land and water assets.
This story has been up to date.
NCS’s Kevin Liptak, Kara Fox and Nimi Princewell contributed reporting.