By Ihechi Enyinnaya
United States President Donald Trump has announced that American forces, working alongside the Nigerian military, carried out a joint operation that allegedly killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, whom he described as the second-in-command of the Islamic State group globally.
Trump made the announcement in a late-night post on his Truth Social platform, claiming the operation successfully eliminated what he called “the most active terrorist in the world.”
According to the U.S. president, the mission was the result of sustained intelligence gathering and coordination between U.S. security agencies and Nigerian forces.
“[He] thought he could hide in Africa,” Trump wrote, adding that the terrorist suspect “didn’t know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing.”
The president did not disclose the exact location of the operation, the number of casualties involved, or whether any American or Nigerian personnel were injured during the mission.
Abu-Bilal al-Minuki was described by Trump as a senior ISIS commander with extensive operational influence across several regions. However, no independent confirmation of his death had been released as of the time of filing this report.
The Nigerian military and the U.S. Department of Defense are yet to issue official statements detailing the operation or verifying Trump’s claims.
The development comes amid renewed international efforts to combat extremist activities in parts of Africa, where terror groups linked to ISIS and other insurgent organisations have expanded operations in recent years.