Trump says Islamic State ‘second in command’ killed by US and Nigerian forces | Islamic State
Donald Trump said US and Nigerian forces killed the “second” global leader of ISIS.
“Tonight, under my direction, brave American forces and the Nigerian Armed Forces flawlessly executed a meticulously planned and very complex mission to eliminate from the battlefield the most active terrorist in the world,” the US president said in a statement on the Truth Social platform on Friday. he said.
“Abu Bilal al Minuki, ISIS’s second-in-command worldwide, thought he could hide in Africa, but he didn’t know we had sources to inform us about what he was doing,” Trump added.
Al Minuki was placed under US sanctions in 2023 due to his links to the Islamic State group.
“He will no longer terrorize African people or help plan operations targeting Americans,” Trump said. “With his removal, ISIS’s global operation has been greatly diminished.”
While Trump thanked the Nigerian government for its “partnership” in the operation, he did not disclose exactly where the operation took place or the nature of the attack.
Al-Minuki, a Nigerian citizen, was designated a “designated global terrorist” by the former Biden administration in 2023, according to U.S. federal records. At the time, the foreign ministry described him as the senior leader of Sahel-based ISIS and part of its provincial headquarters; It was the group’s governing body, providing “worldwide operational guidance and funding”.
Trump has previously accused Nigeria of failing to protect Christians from Islamist militants in the northwest.
Nigeria denies discriminating against any religion, saying its security forces target armed groups that attack both Christians and Muslims.
The United States carried out strikes targeting Islamic State-linked militants in Nigeria in December. Since then, Washington has deployed drones and 200 soldiers to provide training and intelligence support to the Nigerian military against Islamic State and Al Qaeda-linked insurgencies spreading across West Africa.
Nigerian military officials said earlier this year that U.S. forces were operating in a strictly non-combat role.
With Agence France-Presse and Reuters
