Abuja, May 16 (IANS) Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said on Saturday that Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second-in-command of the Islamic State (IS) globally, was eliminated in an overnight operation jointly carried out by Nigerian and US forces.
In a statement, Tinubu described the joint operation as “a significant example of effective collaboration in the fight against terrorism,” which dealt a heavy blow to the ranks of the IS.
He said early assessments confirmed the elimination of the wanted senior leader, also known as Abu-Mainok, along with several of his lieutenants, during a strike on his compound in the Lake Chad Basin.
Tinubu commended the soldiers for their courage and professionalism and hailed the partnership between both countries in advancing shared security objectives. He also called for more decisive strikes against terrorist enclaves across West Africa, Xinhua news agency reported.
On Friday (US time), US President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that the IS leader had been killed in a joint operation by US and Nigerian forces.
“Tonight, at my direction, 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 stated.
“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. He will no longer terrorise the people of Africa or help plan operations to target Americans. With his removal, ISIS’s global operation is greatly diminished,” he further said.
Born in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno State in 1982, al-Minuki assumed leadership of the IS branch in West Africa after the killing of former regional leader Mamman Nur in 2018, according to the Counter Extremism Project, which monitors militant groups.
The group said Al-Manuki was based in the Sahel region and was sanctioned by the United States in 2023.
–IANS
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