Late Friday, President Donald Trump revealed that a joint operation by U.S. and Nigerian forces successfully eliminated a high-ranking ISIS leader.
Trump named the individual as Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, describing him as the second most senior leader within ISIS globally.
“Under my orders, courageous American forces, alongside Nigeria’s military, executed a meticulously planned and highly complex mission to remove the world’s most active terrorist from the battlefield,” Trump announced via a post on Truth Social.
“Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, who held the position of ISIS’s global second-in-command, believed he could evade capture in Africa. However, our intelligence sources kept us informed of his activities,” Trump added. “He will no longer pose a threat to the people of Africa or assist in planning attacks against Americans.”
In Washington, D.C., on March 2, President Donald Trump was pictured overseeing military operations during Operation Epic Fury against Iran at the White House. (Image credit: The White House via X Account/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Trump also thanked the Nigerian government for its cooperation in the mission.
“With his removal, ISIS’s global operation is greatly diminished,” he added.
Additional details surrounding the mission were not immediately available.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
The announcement comes after U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said it carried out multiple strikes against more than 30 ISIS targets in Syria in February as part of a joint military effort to “sustain relentless military pressure on remnants from the terrorist network.”
CENTCOM said U.S. forces struck ISIS infrastructure and weapons-storage targets using fixed-wing, rotary-wing and unmanned aircraft.
The U.S. military carried out ten strikes against more than 30 ISIS targets in Syria following a December ambush that killed U.S. troops. (CENTCOM)
Trump told reporters on Jan. 27 that he had a “great conversation” with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
“All of the things having to do with Syria in that area are working out very, very well,” he said at the time. “So, we are very happy about it.”
CENTCOM announced in February that more than 50 ISIS terrorists had been killed or captured and more than 100 ISIS infrastructure targets struck during two months of targeted operations in Syria.
The U.S. launched Operation Hawkeye Strike in response to an ISIS ambush that killed two U.S. service members and an American interpreter Dec. 13, 2025, in Palmyra, Syria.
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