US and Nigeria presidents say senior IS leader killed in joint operation

A senior Islamic State group leader has been killed in a joint operation by United States and Nigerian forces in the west African country, the two countries' presidents said.

US President Donald Trump, in a post on his Truth social media, said Abu-Bilal al-Minuki was killed in a “meticulously planned” joint operation with Nigerian forces.

He went on to say that al-Minuki - who has been under US sanctions since 2023 - was the second-in-command of ISIS globally and “the most active terrorist in the world”.

Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu called the strike, which took place in the early hours of Saturday morning, a "significant example of effective collaboration in the fight against terrorism".

In a statement posted on X, he confirmed al-Minuki’s death along with several of his lieutenants during a strike on his compound in the Lake Chad Basin.

"Our determined Nigerian Armed Forces, working closely with the Armed Forces of the United States, conducted a daring joint operation that dealt a heavy blow to the ranks of the Islamic State," he said.

An army spokesperson said the precision air-land operation followed intelligence that al-Minuki’s cell had established a "concealed and fortified enclave" at a remote village in the north-eastern Borno State.

It is the epicentre of a 17-year armed insurgency waged by Boko Haram and its splinter group, Islamic States West Africa. Thousands have been killed in the fighting which has displaced some two million people.

The military said there were no casualties or loss of assets in the strike that was conducted as part of its ongoing counter-insurgency initiative, in coordination with US Africa Command (Africom).

The Nigerian military sees al-Minuki's death as removing a "critical node through which ISIS coordinated and directed operations across different regions of the world".

Since late 2025, the Nigerian government has been under pressure from the United States, which has accused it of not doing enough to combat the Islamist militant threat.

On Christmas Day, the US in collaboration with Nigeria, carried out airstrikes in north-western Sokoto State targeting fighters from the Islamic State in the Sahel group, usually active in neighbouring Niger.

Since then, Washington has deployed drones ​and 200 troops to provide training and intelligence support to the ​Nigerian military.

Tinubu thanked Trump for his "leadership and unwavering support in this effort", adding that he looked "forward to more decisive strikes against all terrorist enclaves across the nation".