Trump Says Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, ISIS Global Second-In-Command, Killed In US-Nigeria Mission

The United States and Nigeria have confirmed the killing of a senior Islamic State commander, Abu-Bilal al-Minuki (also reported as Abu Bakr al-Mainuki) , in a joint counterterrorism operation in Nigeria’s northeastern Lake Chad Basin region, in what officials described as a coordinated strike based on shared intelligence.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced the development in a social media post, saying the mission was carried out by U.S. and Nigerian forces and targeted a high-ranking ISIS figure he described as the group’s global second-in-command . He said the operation followed sustained intelligence tracking of the suspect’s movements across West Africa.

Al-Minuki was a Nigerian national born in Borno State in 1982 and is widely described by U.S. and Nigerian security officials as a senior figure within Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and broader ISIS-linked global structures. He is believed to have risen through extremist networks in the region after 2018, when jihadist groups in the Lake Chad Basin underwent internal fragmentation and realignment.

He was allegedly responsible for financing and fundraising networks, recruitment and radicalisation activities, weapons and logistics coordination, and propaganda operations , playing a central role in sustaining ISIS-linked cells across West Africa and the Sahel. U.S. authorities had designated him a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in 2023 , and he had been under surveillance for several years.

The operation took place in the Lake Chad Basin region of Borno State , a long-standing insurgency hotspot spanning Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, where ISWAP and other militant groups remain active. U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and Nigerian military officials described the mission as a precision, intelligence-led strike , carried out through close coordination between air and ground components.

Nigerian authorities confirmed that al-Minuki was killed along with several senior lieutenants , with no reported casualties among Nigerian or U.S. forces. Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu described the operation as a significant achievement in counterterrorism cooperation between both countries.

Security analysts say al-Minuki was considered more of a strategic organiser and network coordinator than a battlefield commander, focusing on financing, logistics, and regional operational support. He is also believed to have had earlier exposure to militant activity in Libya during the peak of Islamic State operations in North Africa , although full operational records remain limited.

While the operation has been confirmed by both governments, some details remain under review, including full identity verification across aliases and independent confirmation of ISIS’s internal ranking structure. Officials have also not released detailed forensic evidence or complete operational timelines.

The Lake Chad Basin continues to be one of the most active conflict zones for ISIS-linked groups in Africa, and analysts warn that while leadership losses can disrupt networks, they may also lead to short-term fragmentation and possible retaliatory attacks.

Islamic State has not issued any official statement on the reported killing.