Nigeria'sBola Ahmed Tinubuand the west African country's military on Saturday confirmed the killing in Nigeria of al-Minuki in a joint operation with US forces.
"Our determined Nigerian Armed Forces, working closely with the Armed Forces of the United States, conducted a daring joint operation that dealt a heavy blow to the ranks of the Islamic State," Tinubusaid in a statementafter US President Donald Trump first announced the killing.
Tinubu said Manuki, also known asAbu-Mainok, had been taken down on Friday "along with several of his lieutenants, during a strike on his compound in the Lake Chad Basin" and described the operation as a "significant example of effective collaboration in the fight against terrorism".
Trump announced the killing late Friday.
"Tonight, at my direction, brave American forces and theArmed Forces ofNigeriaflawlessly executed a meticulously planned and very complex mission to eliminate the most activeterrorist in the world from the battlefield,"he wroteon his Truth Social platform.
"Abu-Bilalal-Minuki, second in command of ISIS globally, thought he couldhide inAfrica, but little did he know we had sources who keptus informed on what he was doing."
Al-Minuki, a Nigerian national, was designated as a"specially designated global terrorist" by the former Bidenadministration in 2023, according to the US Federal Register. Nigerian defence forces said he was a "senior ISIS leader and one of the world's most active terrorists".
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Second joint operation
Tinubu thanked Trump "for his leadership and unwavering support in this effort" and said he looked forward "to more decisive strikes against all terrorist enclaves across the nation".
The US hadcarried out strikestargeting IslamicState-linked militants on 25 Decemberin Sokoto State in the country's north-west, targeting what Washington described as IS-affiliated jihadists.
Since then,Washington has deployeddrones and 200 troopsto providetraining and intelligence support to the Nigerian military against Islamic State and al Qaeda-linked insurgencies that arespreading acrossWest Africa.
The US forces were operating in a strictly non-combatrole, Nigerian military officials said earlier this year.
Nigeria has been battling multiple armed groups, including at least two affiliated withIslamic State, as it has grappled with a multifaceted security crisis.
Trump has previously accused Nigeria offailing toprotect Christiansfrom Islamist militants in the northwest. Nigeria denies discriminating against any religion, sayingits security forces target armed groups that attack bothChristians and Muslims.
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(with newswires)
Originally published on RFI
