Nigeria's President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, shown here in 2023, has thanked the United States for its work helping Nigeria with an operation to kill Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, a top ISIS leader, Friday night. File Photo by Akintunde Akinleye/EPA
May 16 (UPI) -- U.S. and Nigerian forces killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, who is alleged to be a second-in-command for ISIS, President Donald Trump announced.
The president said Abu-Bilal al-Minuki was killed Friday night. The Nigerian president's office said the operation took place at al-Minuki's compound on Lake Chad Basin, which is in northeast Nigeria.
"Brave American forces and the Armed Forces of Nigeria flawlessly executed a meticulously planned and very complex mission to eliminate the most active terrorist in the world from the battlefield," Trump said on Truth Social.
"Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in command of ISIS globally, thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing. He will no longer terrorize the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans," Trump said. "With his removal, ISIS's global operation is greatly diminished. Thank you to the Government of Nigeria for your partnership on this operation."
