Trump Announces Killing of ISIS Second-in-Command in Joint US-Nigerian Operation

President Donald Trump announced on Friday via Truth Social that U.S. and Nigerian forces killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described as the global second-in-command of the Islamic State (ISIS), in a joint military operation in Africa that Trump personally directed. Al-Minuki, who was placed under U.S. sanctions in 2023, served as the leading official in the Lake Chad division of ISIS's General Directorate of Provinces and directed IS-linked cells across Africa, particularly the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISIS-WA), which has an estimated 4,000 to 7,000 fighters. Trump thanked the Nigerian government for their partnership and described al-Minuki's death as a major blow to ISIS's African and global networks, disrupting funding channels and command structures. The operation follows a joint U.S.-Nigerian airstrike last Christmas in Nigeria's Sokoto state targeting IS-linked groups, and comes after ISIS claimed responsibility for an April 2026 attack that killed at least 29 people at a football pitch in Nigeria's Adamawa state.