Nigeria and the United States said Tuesday that joint air strikes over the past few days killed 175 Islamic State (IS) group fighters in the country's northeast, including the jihadist group's global second-in-command. The remote region has been gripped by an Islamist extremist insurgency since 2009, first by Boko Haram, then its offshoot and rival, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). According to the United Nations, more than 40,000 people have been killed and two million others displaced since the fighting first broke out. The US sent troops to Nigeria in February to serve in what was deemed a largely advisory and training role. The recent joint operation signals that US involvement has been far more active. US and Nigerian forces killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, an IS group leader described as the "most active terrorist" in the world, at a remote village in the northeast last weekend.
Nigeria: Who was the targeted Islamic State group leader and why was he targeted by the US?
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