A joint US-Nigerian operation killed ISIS “second-in-command” Abu Bilal Al Minuki in northern Nigeria overnight, President Donald Trump has said.
“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. Abu Bilal Al Minuki, second-in-command of ISIS globally,” the US President said in a post on Truth Social.
Mr Al Minuki had been wanted since 2023, when Washington declared him a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.
“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,” Mr Trump added.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu later issued a statement praising his country's military. “Our determined Nigerian Armed Forces, working closely with the Armed Forces of the United States, conducted a daring joint operation that dealt a heavy blow to the ranks of ISIS,” he said.
Mr Al Minuki, a Nigerian national born in 1982, was known as one of the top-ranking officials of the group in the Lake Chad Basin region, which includes parts of Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon, where he had held a command role since 2018.
The region is home to Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), as well as other ISIS-linked cells operating across the Sahel and neighbouring borders, notably support networks linked to logistics and co-ordination.
ISWAP is believed to be led by Abu Musab Al Barnawi, son of Boko Haram founder Mohammed Yusuf. Mr Al Barnawi has not been reported killed and analysts believe he is still be alive, though his exact role and whereabouts remain unclear.
Mr Al Minuki helped the organisation with co-ordination between ISIS regional branches, as well as providing financial and operational support, including insurgent activity in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin regions.
The Nigerian army described him as an “operational and strategic figure who provided guidance to ISIS entities outside Nigeria on matters relating to media operations, economic warfare and the development and manufacturing of weapons, explosives and drones”.
The Lake Chad Basin is an epicentre of violence, where ISWAP and other armed groups carry out frequent raids on military positions, rural communities and supply routes. More than 400 attacks have been documented in 2024-2025.
It is not the first time US forces have worked alongside the Nigerian army. In late December 2025, both countries struck ISIS militants in Sokoto, north-western Nigeria, who Mr Trump accused of attacking Christians in the region.
