President Donald Trump revealed late Friday night that, at his direct order, U.S. special operations forces and Nigerian troops carried out a highly complex, perfectly executed raid that killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, the second-in-command of ISIS worldwide, in Africa.
Trump made the announcement in a post on Truth Social just after 11:30 p.m. EST.
The post read in full:
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. 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. With his removal, ISIS’s global operation is greatly diminished. Thank you to the Government of Nigeria for your partnership on this operation. GOD BLESS AMERICA! President DONALD J. TRUMP
Al-Minuki’s real name was Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Ali al-Mainuki. He was born in 1982 in Nigeria.
The Nigerian national rose through the ranks of Boko Haram splinter groups before becoming a senior leader in the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and eventually one of ISIS’s top global figures.
He was known for his ruthless approach and long-standing rivalry with other jihadist leaders.
Al-Minuki defected from Abubakar Shekau’s faction of Boko Haram and joined ISWAP around 2019 or 2020. He reportedly served as ISWAP’s “Minister of Finance” at one point and later became a key regional commander.
By 2023, U.S. intelligence assessed him as the senior leader of ISIS’s al-Furqan Office in the Sahel, the General Directorate of Provinces (GDP) division responsible for coordinating ISIS branches across West Africa and the Lake Chad region, according to the Counter Extremism Project.
The State Department officially designated him a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) that year, citing his leadership role in ISIS’s global network.
This operation represents a significant blow to ISIS’s ability to coordinate attacks across Africa and potentially plan operations against Western targets.
Trump emphasized that U.S. intelligence had been tracking al-Minuki despite his attempts to hide on the African continent.
As of early Friday morning, neither the Pentagon nor the Nigerian government has issued statements, making President Trump’s Truth Social post the first official announcement of the mission’s success.
The post Trump Announces Flawless Joint US-Nigeria Raid Eliminated ISIS Global No. 2 Abu-Bilal al-Minuki – ‘He Will No Longer Terrorize the People of Africa or Help Plan Attacks on Americans’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.