U.S. and Nigerian forces killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, the identified second-in-command of ISIS globally, during a joint operation on Friday, May 15 [1].
The strike removes a top-tier leader from the militant group's global hierarchy and signals a reinforced security partnership between Washington and Abuja.
The operation took place near the Lake Chad Basin in northeastern Nigeria [2]. President Donald Trump announced the results of the mission on May 16, and said that the operation has greatly diminished the militant group's power [3].
Trump said that al-Minuki thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing [4]. The U.S. State Department had previously designated al-Minuki as a terrorist in 2023 [5].
According to a U.S. Africa Command spokesperson, this marks the largest U.S. operation in Nigeria since February 2026 [6]. The mission aimed to eliminate the senior leader to reduce the operational capabilities of the terrorist organization [3].
While some reports identified the target as Abu Bakr al-Mainuki, multiple other sources confirmed the name as Abu-Bilal al-Minuki [7]. The target's specific role has been described as both a senior commander, and the global operations chief [2, 7].
“"This operation has greatly diminished the militant group's power."”
The elimination of a global second-in-command represents a significant blow to the command-and-control structure of ISIS. By conducting the largest joint operation in Nigeria since February, the U.S. is demonstrating a renewed commitment to counter-terrorism in the Lake Chad Basin, a region that remains a volatile stronghold for various militant factions.
