US President Donald Trump has said that high-ranking "Islamic State" member, Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, was killed in Nigeria during a joint operation involving US and Nigerian forces.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the operation was carried out “at my direction” and involved what he called “brave American forces and the Armed Forces of Nigeria," Caliber.Az reports.
He described al-Minuki as the “second in command of ISIS globally” and said the militant had been tracked by intelligence sources before being located in Africa.
"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 wrote, adding that the operation had eliminated “the most active terrorist in the world from the battlefield.”
He also claimed the killing would significantly weaken ISIS’s global operations and thanked the Nigerian government for its cooperation.
The announcement comes against the backdrop of US-Nigeria tensions in recent months. Trump has previously accused Islamist militants of targeting Christians in Nigeria and criticised the government’s response—claims which Nigerian officials have rejected.
By Sabina Mammadli
