Things to know about Abu-Bilal al-Minuki killed in Nigeria-US operation

US President Donald Trump announced that American and Nigerian forces had killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described as the second-in-command of ISIS globally, during a joint military operation in Nigeria.

Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said the operation was “meticulously planned” and praised Nigerian authorities for partnering with the United States in trackinga and eliminating the terror leader.

“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Also reacting, President Bola Tinubu, in a post on X on Saturday, hailed the operation, saying he looked forward to more decisive strikes against all terrorist enclaves across the nation.

The statement partly read: ‘Nigeria appreciates this partnership with the United States in advancing our shared security objectives. I extend my sincere gratitude to President Trump for his leadership and unwavering support in this effort.

“I commend the personnel involved on both sides for their professionalism and courage, and I look forward to more decisive strikes against all terrorist enclaves across the nation.”

But who exactly was Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, also known as Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Ali al-Mainuki? According to Counter Extremism Project

Below are 10 things to know about Abu-Bilal al-Minuki:

1. Abu-Bilal al-Minuki was a Nigerian national who operated mainly across the Sahel region of Africa.
2. He was also known as Abor Mainok or Abubakar Mainok.
3. Al-Minuki was born in 1982 in Mainok, Benisheikh area of Borno State.
4. He reportedly became a senior ISIS commander after the killing of ISWAP leader Mamman Nur in 2018.
5. Security analysts described him as a hardline militant and a major figure within ISIS in West Africa.
6. He reportedly had a strained relationship with former Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau over ISIS operations and control.
7. Al-Minuki allegedly facilitated the movement of fighters to Libya between 2015 and 2016 in support of ISIS operations in North Africa.
8. He reportedly became a senior leader within ISIS’s al-Furqan Office, which coordinated extremist activities across Nigeria and the Sahel region.
9. The United States designated him a specially designated global terrorist in June 2023 over alleged terrorism links.
10. He was linked to the 2018 Dapchi schoolgirls kidnapping and other ISIS-linked attacks across West Africa.

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