US President Donald Trump, on Saturday (May 16, 2026), announced the elimination of the Islamic State’s second-in-command, Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, a Nigerian national, in a joint military operation with Nigerian forces.
Trump posted on Truth Social that the military operation was “meticulously planned,” calling it a “very complex mission” in Nigeria. The Islamic State, however, did not react to Trump’s announcement.
“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 posted.
The US President suggested that the American military had sources on the ground in Africa who kept it informed of al-Minuki’s whereabouts. “He will no longer terrorise the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans. With his removal, ISIS’s global operation is greatly diminished,” he further said.
While the killing of Abu-Bilal al-Minuki was no doubt a significant blow to IS networks in Africa, the organisation remains decentralised. With the death of the secretive Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, the global operations of the IS are now greatly diminished. The terror group already remains severely weakened from its peak in the 2010s.
Al-Minuki was considered the IS organisational and financial mastermind and was believed to be “plotting attacks” against the US and its interests abroad.
Also known as Abu Bakr Muhammad al-Mainuki, he was based primarily in the Sahel region of Africa, according to a report by Counter Extremism Project. A shadowy figure, al-Mainuki functioned as a senior commander of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
The US State Department classified him as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) in June 2023 due to his role in channelling international funding and guiding terror cells for the Islamic State.
This is, however, not the first fatal strike Trump has ordered on alleged Islamic State terrorists in Nigeria. Last year, Trump alleged that Christians were being persecuted in Nigeria, a claim denied by the African nation’s government.
Days after Trump’s allegation, the US conducted a powerful and deadly strike on alleged Islamic State camps in northwestern Nigeria. Trump justified the strike, claiming that ISIS terrorists were killing innocent Christians.
In February, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) carried out multiple strikes against more than 30 Islamic State targets in Syria. The operation, which targeted infrastructure and weapons storage, was carried out using fixed-wing, rotary-wing, and unmanned aircraft.