The BRICS TimesUS President Donald Trump announced Friday that Abu-Bilal al-Minuki ISIS’s second-in-command globally was neutralised in a joint operation by American and Nigerian forces. Trump called him “the most active terrorist in the world” and said his removal has greatly weakened ISIS’s global reach.
Trump Announces Death of ISIS’s Global Number Two
US President Donald Trump broke major news late Friday declaring that American forces, alongside Nigeria’s military, had successfully eliminated Abu-Bilal al-Minuki. Trump called al-Minuki the second-in-command of ISIS globally and described him as the deadliest active terrorist on the planet.
Taking to Truth Social, Trump made the announcement in dramatic fashion. “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,” he wrote. “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.”
Trump added sharply “He will no longer terrorize the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans.” He also acknowledged Nigeria’s military partnership, thanking the Nigerian government for its cooperation in pulling off the mission.
Who Was Abu-Bilal al-Minuki?
Al-Minuki also known as Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Ali al-Mainuki was a Nigerian national. The US State Department had flagged him back in 2023 as a key ISIS figure running operations across Africa’s Sahel region. He served as a high-ranking official within ISIS’s General Directorate of Provinces a body that provides “operational guidance and funding around the world,” as the State Department described it.
His network had deep roots in West Africa with ISIS affiliates active in Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. Recent months had seen a sharp uptick in suspected ISIS attacks across all four countries. Among them was a brazen offensive on a Nigerian military base a sign of how emboldened the network had become under his direction.
ISIS Still a Threat But Diminished
ISIS has lost massive ground since 2017, when a broad coalition of US forces, regional allies, Iran, and others drove the group out of large parts of Iraq and Syria. Yet the organisation and its offshoots have refused to disappear continuing to launch insurgent attacks from pockets in the Middle East and Africa.
With al-Minuki’s removal, Trump declared “ISIS’s global operation is greatly diminished.” Whether the killing translates into lasting peace on the ground remains to be seen. Security analysts note the group has repeatedly adapted after losing key leaders.
A Pattern of Strikes Hawkeye and Beyond
This was not Trump’s first move against ISIS in Nigeria. On Christmas Day last year, he ordered strikes on what the US described as Islamist camps in northwestern Nigeria. The US military’s Africa Command confirmed that multiple ISIS terrorists were killed in those strikes.
Friday’s operation came under a broader counter-terrorism push including Operation Hawkeye Strike. That operation was launched following an ISIS ambush on December 13, 2025, in Palmyra, Syria an attack that killed two US service members and an American interpreter. In February, US Central Command carried out multiple strikes against more than 30 ISIS targets inside Syria hitting infrastructure and weapons-storage sites using fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and drones.
Nigeria’s Complicated Relationship With Washington
The US-Nigeria partnership in this operation comes after a period of strained ties. Trump had publicly accused Nigeria of persecuting Christians a charge Abuja strongly denied. He had previously pressed Nigerian leadership to take stronger action against terrorism within its borders. Despite the tension, Friday’s joint strike signalled a working military relationship between the two nations.
Trump told reporters earlier this year that he had a “great conversation” with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa adding: “All of the things having to do with Syria in that area are working out very, very well.” The ISIS leadership strike in Africa adds a new chapter to what the Trump administration is framing as a revived and aggressive global counter-terrorism strategy.
Mayur Mohta
Aditya Didwaniya
Pratik Agrawal
Akshay Didwaniya
