Donald Trump has revealed the demise of ISIS’s ‘second in command,’ Abu-Bilal al-Minuki. The US President disclosed that American and Nigerian forces successfully eliminated the “most active terrorist in the world” who was discovered hiding in Africa. Trump boasted on Truth Social about having informed sources that tracked al-Minuki’s activities.
Al-Minuki, designated a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by Washington in 2023, was a pivotal figure in Islamic State (IS) operations and financing. An anonymous official stated that he was orchestrating attacks against the US and its interests. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu confirmed the operation, noting that al-Minuki and several of his associates were killed during a strike on his compound in the Lake Chad Basin.
The death of al-Minuki follows the killing of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2019. Trump emphasized that al-Minuki’s demise would significantly weaken ISIS’s global activities, preventing further terror acts against Africa and Americans. The President expressed gratitude to the Nigerian government for its collaboration in the operation, signing off with “GOD BLESS AMERICA! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Al-Minuki, born in Nigeria’s Borno province in 1982, assumed leadership of the IS branch in West Africa after the previous regional leader, Mamman Nur, was killed in 2018. The Counter Extremism Project indicated that al-Minuki operated in the Sahel region and likely participated in IS activities in Libya over a decade ago.
Nigeria has been combatting various armed groups, including IS-affiliated factions, amidst a complex security crisis. IS branches in Africa have emerged as some of the continent’s most active militant organizations following the collapse of the IS caliphate in Syria and Iraq in 2017.
