“Brave American forces and the Armed Forces of Nigeria flawlessly executed a meticulously planned and very complex mission to eliminate the most active terrorist in the world from the battlefield,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Friday.
Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in command of ISIS globally, thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing.”
Trump also thanked the Nigerian government for its partnership in the operation, but did not provide further details.
Al-Minuki had been under US sanctions since 2023 for his links to ISIL.
When announcing al-Minuki’s designation on the list of “global terrorists”, the US State Department described him as a Sahel-based ISIL senior leader and part of its General Directorate of Provinces, the group’s administrative body that provides “operational guidance and funding around the world”.
“With his removal, ISIS’s global operation is greatly diminished,” Trump said.
