The Nigeria confirmed on Saturday, May 16, the death of an Islamic State leader during the second operation launched with American forces by Donald Trump in the West African country plagued by jihadist violence. This operation, announced by Donald Trump, targeted Abou Bilal al-Minuki this time, whom he presented as the number two of the IS in the world.
Abou Bilal al-Minuki is described by the Nigerian forces as “a rational and strategic figure who provided advice to Islamic State entities outside Nigeria on issues related to media operations, economic warfare, as well as the development and manufacturing of weapons, explosives, and drones.”
“Our Nigerian armed forces, determined and working closely with the US military, have carried out a bold joint operation that dealt a severe blow to the ranks of the Islamic State,” said Bola Tinubu in a statement confirming an announcement by President Donald Trump.
He was killed last night, according to Donald Trump and Bola Tinubu. He met his end “with several of his lieutenants, during an airstrike on his compound in the Lake Chad Basin,” the Nigerian president specified. According to the Nigerian defense forces, Abou Bilal al-Minuki was a “high-ranking official of the Islamic State and one of the most active terrorists in the world.”
Abou Bilal al-Minuki had been placed under US sanctions in 2023 for his ties to IS. Washington then claimed that this man, also known as Abu Bakr al-Mainuki, was born in 1982 in Borno state, northeastern Nigeria.
Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, has been fighting a jihadist insurgency since 2009, mainly concentrated in the northeast of the country, while armed groups have established themselves in vast rural areas of the northwest and north-central regions.
This is the second time in five months that the American president has launched a military intervention in Nigeria, where he denounced alleged persecutions suffered by Christians.
“Tonight, at my instruction, the brave American forces and the Nigerian military carried out a meticulously planned and very complex mission to eliminate the world’s most active terrorist from the battlefield,” said the US president on his Truth Social network.
“With his elimination, the operational capacities of IS worldwide are significantly reduced,” assured Donald Trump. “He will no longer terrorize the African population or contribute to planning operations targeting Americans,” he added.
The resurgence of deadly attacks and mass kidnappings in recent months has drawn the attention of the United States. President Donald Trump claims that Christians in Nigeria are “persecuted” and victims of a “genocide” carried out by “terrorists,” a claim that Abuja and most experts firmly deny, as the violence generally affects both Christians and Muslims indiscriminately.
The American military, in coordination with Nigerian authorities, conducted strikes in Sokoto state (northwest) on Christmas Day targeting IS jihadists, according to Washington. The Pentagon increased intelligence sharing, facilitated arms 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 precisely target threats, mainly the IS,” said General John Brennan, a senior US Africa Command official, to AFP in late January.
In early April, the US State Department authorized the departure of non-essential personnel from Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, due to the deteriorating security situation.
IS-affiliated jihadists are active in neighboring Niger, as well as in Burkina Faso and Mali, where they are waging a bloody insurgency against the governments of these countries.
