Trump announces US, Nigerian forces killed top ISIS leader in Africa
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President Donald Trump announced late Friday that U.S. and Nigerian forces conducted an operation that killed a global ISIS leader.
Trump identified the terrorist as Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, whom he described as ISIS’ global second-in-command.
“Tonight, under my direction, brave American forces and the Nigerian Armed Forces flawlessly executed a meticulously planned and very complex mission to eliminate the world’s most active terrorist from the battlefield,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Trump continued: “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.” “He will no longer terrorize African people or help plan operations targeting Americans.”
100 US SOLDIERS APPEARED IN NIGERIA WHILE ISLAMIC MILITANTS THREATENED REGIONAL SECURITY IN WEST AFRICA
President Donald Trump sits at a table monitoring military operations during Operation Epic Rage against Iran at the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 2. (via White House X Account/Anatolia/Getty Images)
Trump also thanked the Nigerian government for its cooperation in the mission.
“With his removal, ISIS’s global operation has been greatly reduced,” he added.
Additional details about the mission were not immediately available.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
US MILITARY CONDUCTS 10 ATTACKS ON MORE THAN 30 ISIS TARGETS IN SYRIA: PHOTOS
The announcement comes after U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said it had launched multiple strikes on more than 30 ISIS targets in Syria in February as part of a joint military effort to “maintain brutal military pressure on the remnants of the terrorist network.”
CENTCOM said U.S. forces hit ISIS infrastructure and weapons storage targets using fixed-wing, rotary-wing and unmanned aircraft.
DEADLY ATTACK ON US SOLDIERS TESTS TRUMP’S PLAN TO FIGHT ISIS AND HIS CONFIDENCE IN SYRIA’S NEW LEADER
The US military launched ten strikes on more than 30 ISIS targets in Syria following an ambush that killed US troops in December. (CENTCOM)
Trump told reporters on January 27 that he had a “great conversation” with Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara.
“Everything is going very, very well in that region regarding Syria,” he said at the time. “So we’re very happy with that.”
In February, CENTCOM announced that more than 50 ISIS terrorists had been killed or captured and more than 100 ISIS infrastructure targets had been hit during two months of targeted operations in Syria.
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The United States launched Operation Hawkeye Strike in response to an ambush in Palmyra, Syria, on December 13, 2025, in which ISIS killed two US military members and an American translator.
Fox News Digital’s Ashley J. DiMella contributed to this report.
