US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in command of ISIS globally, was killed in an operation conducted by US and Nigerian forces.
It was a strike that Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu described as "a significant example of effective collaboration in the fight against terrorism".
"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 said on Truth Social, without disclosing the exact location of the operation.
In a statement posted on X, Tinubu said early assessments confirmed the elimination of al-Minuki - also known as Abu-Mainok - along with several of his lieutenants, during a strike on his compound in the Lake Chad Basin.
Tinubu said Nigerian forces worked closely with their US counterparts in what he called a daring joint operation that dealt a heavy blow to the ranks of the IS.
Al-Minuki, a Nigerian national, was designated a "specially designated global terrorist" by the Biden administration in 2023, according to the US Federal Register.
Trump, who has previously accused Nigeria of failing to protect Christians from IS fighters in the northwest, thanked the Nigerian government for its partnership in the operation.
Nigeria denies discriminating against any religion, saying its security forces target armed groups that attack both Christians and Muslims.
The US carried out strikes targeting IS-linked fighters in Nigeria in December. Since then, Washington has deployed drones and 200 troops to provide training and intelligence support to the Nigerian military against IS and al Qaeda-linked insurgencies that are spreading across West Africa.
The US forces were operating in a strictly non-combat role, Nigerian military officials said earlier this year.
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