AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.Abu Bilal al-Minuki, said to be the Islamic State’s second-ranking leader, was killed after a helicopter-borne assault by commandos from both countries on Friday night, two U.S. officials said.Listen · 6:00 min President Trump announced the operation in a late-night post on Truth Social, his social media platform.Credit...Haiyun Jiang/The New York TimesMay 16, 2026Updated 10:42 a.m. ETPresident Trump said late Friday that U.S. and Nigerian forces had killed one of the Islamic State’s highest-ranking leaders in an operation in Africa, where the United States has been targeting Islamic militants who the president says are killing Christians.In a social media post, Mr. Trump said the leader, Abu Bilal al-Minuki, had been killed on Friday night in a “very complex mission” carried out at his direction by U.S. forces and the Nigerian military.“He will no longer terrorize the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans,” Mr. Trump said in the post.Mr. al-Minuki was designated a terrorist and one of the Islamic State’s leaders by the State Department in 2023. He was a Nigerian citizen, according to the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which had sanctioned him.Two U.S. officials said on Saturday that Mr. al-Minuki was killed in a helicopter-borne assault carried out by about two dozen American and Nigerian Special Operations commandos. They attacked him and about three dozen fighters on two small islands in Lake Chad, the officials said. Lake Chad is at the intersection of four countries, including Nigeria.Heavy fighting ensued, and the U.S. military killed Mr. al-Minuki with an airstrike rather than risk letting him escape, said one of the officials, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters. No American or Nigerian military casualties were reported, they said.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT