Trump Announces US-Nigeria Forces Killed Senior ISIS Leader
US President Donald Trump stated that a joint force of his country and Nigeria killed a senior leader of the Islamic State group (ISIS). The person who died is reportedly named Abu-Bilal al-Minuki.
“Tonight, at my direction, US forces and the Nigerian Armed Forces flawlessly executed a carefully planned and very complex mission to remove the world’s most active terrorist from the battlefield,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, the second in command of ISIS globally, thought he could hide in Africa, but he didn’t know that we have sources that constantly tell us what he is doing,” Trump added, as reported by AFP news agency quoted by detikNews, Saturday (16/5/2026).
Al-Minuki was sanctioned by the US in 2023 for having ties to ISIS, which still has a presence in parts of West Africa.
“He will no longer terrorise the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target American citizens,” said Trump. “With his death, ISIS’s global operations are greatly reduced,” he added.
Trump then thanked the Nigerian government for their “partnership” in the operation. However, it was not specified what form the attack that killed al-Minuki took, whether it was an air strike carried out by the US, or where the senior ISIS leader was killed.
Nigerian forces have been fighting militancy, including regional branches of the ISIS organisation and the Boko Haram group. They have also carried out attacks and operations against non-ideological violent gangs known as “bandits”.
Since the end of 2025, the Nigerian government has been under pressure from the United States, which accuses it of not doing enough to combat the militant threat.
The US State Department announced the designation of al-Minuki on the list of “global terrorists” of the American government in 2023. At that time, the US State Department called him a senior ISIS leader based in the Sahel and part of the General Directorate of Provinces, the group’s administrative body that provides “operational guidance and funding worldwide.”
(apu/apu)