President Donald Trump said U.S. and Nigerian forces killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki—whom he described as the Islamic State group’s global second-in-command—in a joint operation in northeastern Nigeria. U.S. Africa Command said its initial assessment found al-Minuki and other ISIS leaders were killed in the May 16 operation, though analysts noted there is no independent way to verify his exact rank inside the group.
President Donald Trump said U.S. and Nigerian forces carried out a joint operation in northeastern Nigeria that killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, a senior Islamic State figure.
In a post on Truth Social on Friday night into early Saturday, Trump described al-Minuki as “second in command of ISIS globally” and said the mission was “meticulously planned and very complex.” He also claimed the militant “thought he could hide in Africa,” adding that U.S. forces had sources tracking his activity.
U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) said the operation took place on May 16, 2026, and that its initial assessment was that “multiple terrorists,” including al-Minuki, were killed. AFRICOM described al-Minuki as the “director of global operations for ISIS” and said he provided “strategic guidance” to ISIS’s global network on media and financial operations and on the development and manufacturing of weapons, explosives, and drones.
Nigeria’s president, Bola Tinubu, confirmed the operation in a separate statement, saying al-Minuki was killed along with several of his lieutenants during a strike on his compound in the Lake Chad Basin.
U.S. officials previously sanctioned al-Minuki in 2023, placing him on the Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Global Terrorist list. At the time, the State Department described him as a senior Islamic State leader based in Africa’s Sahel region and linked him to the group’s administrative apparatus responsible for providing operational guidance and funding across its network.
While Trump and U.S. and Nigerian officials portrayed al-Minuki as among the Islamic State’s most senior leaders, analysts cited by the Associated Press said there is no independent way to confirm his precise standing within the group’s global hierarchy.
