A joint military operation by the United States and Nigeria killed the second-highest leader of Daesh globally in the west African country, the leaders of the two countries said Friday.
Under U.S. sanctions since 2023, Abu-Bilal al-Minuki was the second-in-command of Daesh worldwide, according to U.S. President Donald Trump and the Nigerian military.
"Tonight, at my direction, 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 in a post on Truth Social first announcing the killing.
The Nigerian defence forces said al-Minuki was a "senior ISIS leader and one of the world's most active terrorists", using another name for the terrorist group.
It described him as an "operational and strategic figure who provided guidance to Daesh entities outside Nigeria on matters relating to media operations, economic warfare and the development and manufacturing of weapons, explosives and drones".
"Our determined Nigerian Armed Forces, working closely with the Armed Forces of the United States, conducted a daring joint operation that dealt a heavy blow to the ranks of the Islamic State," Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu said, confirming the killing.
Tinubu said in his statement that Al-Minuki, also known as Abu-Mainok, was killed "along with several of his lieutenants, during a strike on his compound in the Lake Chad Basin", a restive region straddling Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
Trump did not provide details on the form of attack or whether U.S. forces had carried out air strikes.
The Nigerian military sees Al-Minuki's death as removing "critical node through which Daesh coordinated and directed operations across different regions of the world".
Nigeria has long been battling terrorist insurgents, including regional offshoots of the Daesh terrorist group as well as rival Boko Haram. The Nigerian army has also carried out strikes and operations against non-ideological violent gangs of criminals known as "bandits".
Since late 2025, the Nigerian government has been under pressure from the United States, which has accused it of not doing enough to combat the militant threat.
On Christmas Day, the United States, in collaboration with Nigerian authorities, carried out airstrikes in northwestern Sokoto State targeting fighters from Daesh in the Sahel group, usually active in neighboring Niger.
Washington has since deployed hundreds of troops to Nigeria to support and train its forces.
Tinubu thanked Trump for his "leadership and unwavering support in this effort" adding looked "forward to more decisive strikes against all terrorist enclaves across the nation".
Al-Minuki oversaw Daesh-linked operations across the Sahel and west Africa, including attacks against "ethnic and religious minority communities", the Nigerian military said.
He was linked to the 2018 Dapchi kidnapping of more than 100 schoolgirls in northeastern Nigeria's Yobe state.
The army said that between March 2015 and early 2016, he facilitated the movement of fighters to Libya to support Daesh operations in north Africa.
