It is the second time in five months that the American president has launched an intervention by his army in Nigeria, where he denounces persecutions allegedly suffered by Christians.
Donald Trump announced on Friday that the forces of the United States and Nigeria had killed a leader of the Islamic State group based in the violence-ridden African country.
This operation targeted Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, whom he presented as the number two of ISIS in the world.
“On my instructions, the courageous American forces and the armed forces of Nigeria carried out a meticulously planned and highly complex mission to eliminate the world’s most active terrorist from the battlefield,” stated the American president on his Truth Social network.
“With his elimination, the operational capabilities of ISIS worldwide are significantly reduced,” assured Trump. “He will no longer terrorize the African population or contribute to planning operations against Americans,” he added. Nigerian authorities had not immediately commented on this information.
Under US sanctions since 2023, Abu-Bilal al-Minuki was sanctioned by 2023 for his ties to ISIS. Washington claimed that this man, also known as Abu Bakr al-Mainuki, was born in 1982 and was originally from Borno State in northeastern Nigeria.
The most populous country in Africa has been fighting a jihadist insurgency since 2009, mainly concentrated in the northeast, while armed groups have established themselves in vast rural areas of the northwest and north-central regions.
The increase in deadly attacks and mass abductions in recent months has drawn the attention of the United States. President Donald Trump claims that Christians in Nigeria are being “persecuted” and victims of a “genocide” perpetrated by “terrorists,” a claim firmly denied by Abuja and the majority of experts, who indicate that the violence generally affects Christians and Muslims indiscriminately.
The American military, in coordination with Nigerian authorities, conducted strikes on Christmas Day in Sokoto State (northwest) targeting ISIS jihadists. The Pentagon increased intelligence sharing, accelerated weapon sales, and deployed 200 soldiers to train Nigerian troops.
Under President Trump’s administration, “we have become much more aggressive and are working with partners to critically target threats, primarily ISIS,” said General John Brennan, a senior official at the United States Africa Command (Africom), in late January to AFP.
At the beginning of April, the US State Department authorized the departure of non-essential personnel from Abuja, the Nigerian capital, due to deteriorating security conditions. ISIS-affiliated jihadists are active in neighboring Niger, as well as in Burkina Faso and Mali, where they are conducting a bloody insurgency against these countries’ governments.
