Trump says ISIS second-in-command Abu-Bilal al-Minuki killed in US-Nigerian operation
Reuters links claim to drones and 200 US troops providing intelligence support, non-combat roles keep producing combat outcomes
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Trump says ‘most active terrorist in the world’ killed by US and Nigerian forces
independent.co.uk
Abu-Bilal al-Minuki is reported killed in a joint US-Nigerian operation, Trump calls the ISIS figure the worlds most active terrorist, Washington expands a drone-and-trainer footprint in Nigeria
US President Donald Trump said Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described as Islamic State’s second-in-command globally, was killed in an operation carried out with Nigerian forces. Trump wrote on Truth Social that the mission was “meticulously planned” and “complex,” but did not disclose where it took place, according to Reuters.
The claim lands in a part of the counterterrorism map where the public story and the on-the-ground arrangement often diverge. Reuters notes that since December the US has deployed drones and about 200 troops to provide training and intelligence support to Nigeria’s military, even as Nigerian officials have previously said US forces were operating in a strictly non-combat role. The same report says the US carried out strikes targeting ISIS-linked militants in Nigeria in December, a reminder that “support” can include the ability to find targets and the ability to hit them.
Al-Minuki was a Nigerian national and was designated a “specially designated global terrorist” by the Biden administration in 2023, Reuters reports, citing the US Federal Register. That designation is the bureaucratic plumbing that makes joint operations easier: it clarifies who can be targeted, which assets can be frozen, and which partners can be asked to act. When Washington’s list already contains the name, the political cost of acting is lower than the cost of explaining restraint.
Trump framed the killing as proof that militants cannot “hide in Africa,” saying US sources kept track of al-Minuki’s activities. The phrasing is aimed as much at domestic audiences as at insurgent groups, but it also signals to regional governments what the partnership entails: intelligence sharing, external surveillance, and a US role that can expand quickly when an opportunity presents itself.
Nigeria’s internal politics sit underneath the messaging. Reuters recalls that Trump has previously accused Nigeria of failing to protect Christians from Islamist militants in the northwest, while Nigeria denies discriminating against any religion and says its forces target armed groups attacking both Christians and Muslims. In practice, foreign assistance tends to flow toward units that can absorb it and produce visible results, not toward the slower work of local policing, courts, and compensation for victims.
Trump thanked the Nigerian government for its partnership. He did not say where the operation happened, and Nigerian military officials have previously insisted the US role is non-combat.