Key facts about Abu‑Bilal al‑Minuki, killed in a Nigeria‑US operation

U.S. President Donald Trump announced that American and Nigerian forces had killed Abu‑Bilal al‑Minuki, who was described as the second‑in‑command of ISIS worldwide, during a joint operation in Nigeria.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the mission had been “meticulously planned” and praised Nigerian authorities for their partnership in tracking 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.

President Bola Tinubu also reacted on X, commending the operation and expressing a desire for further decisive strikes against terrorist enclaves across the country.

His statement read in part: “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.”

Who was Abu‑Bilal al‑Minuki, also known as Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Ali al‑Mainuki? According to the Counter Extremism Project, the following facts are relevant:

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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