Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, ISIS’s global second-in-command, killed in joint US-Nigerian operation: Trump

US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that American and Nigerian forces had jointly killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described as the global second-in-command of ISIS, during an operation in Nigeria.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the mission was carried out on his orders and involved close coordination between US forces and the Nigerian military.

“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 wrote.

He added that al-Minuki believed he could evade capture in Africa, but US intelligence sources had been closely tracking his activities.

Trump said the ISIS leader would “no longer terrorize the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans,” adding that the operation had significantly weakened the terror group’s global network.

Who was Abu-Bilal al-Minuki?

Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, also reportedly known as Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Ali al-Mainuki, was considered one of ISIS’s top global operatives and allegedly served as the terror group’s second-in-command worldwide.

According to the Counter Extremism Project, al-Minuki was primarily active in the Sahel region — a vast semi-arid belt stretching across Africa from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea.

The region spans countries including Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Sudan, among others, and has become a major hotspot for extremist activity in recent years.

Al-Minuki reportedly operated as a senior commander within Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and oversaw operations linked to ISIS’s Lake Chad network under the group’s General Directorate of Provinces.

US authorities designated him a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in June 2023, citing his alleged role in coordinating funding, guidance and operational support for ISIS-linked terror cells across Africa.