US and Nigerian Forces Kill Senior Islamic State Leader in Joint Operation

U.S. and Nigerian forces killed a senior leader of the Islamic State group in a joint operation carried out Friday in Nigeria, President Donald Trump said. Trump announced the mission in a late-night social media post that offered few details. He identified the dead militant as Abu Bakr al-Mainuki, who he said was second in command of the Islamic State group globally.

"He 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. Al-Mainuki was viewed as a key figure in organizing and finance for the group and had been plotting attacks against the United States and its interests.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu confirmed the operation on Saturday. He said al-Mainuki was killed alongside several of his lieutenants during a strike on his compound in the Lake Chad Basin. The Nigerian military described the strike as the result of its recently formed U.S.-Nigeria partnership and intelligence sharing efforts.

Samalia Uba, the military spokesperson, said in a statement that the operation disrupted a violent terrorist network that endangered Nigeria and the broader West African region.

Background on the Militant Born in Nigeria's Borno province in 1982, al-Mainuki took the helm of the IS branch in West Africa after the group's previous leader in the region was killed in 2018. He was based in the Sahel area and had fought in Libya when the Islamic State was active there more than a decade ago.

The U.S. sanctioned him in 2023. Trump in December directed U.S. forces to launch strikes against the Islamic State group in Nigeria. The Friday operation marked the latest in a series of such missions.

Malik Samuel, a senior researcher at Good Governance Africa who specializes in insurgent groups in Nigeria, said if confirmed the killing is significant. "This is the first time a security agency has killed someone this high in the ranking of ISWAP," he stated.

Samuel added that the potential to cause chaos within the group exists because the operation was carried out in the heart of ISWAP's fortified base. Some analysts questioned Trump's description of al-Mainuki as second in command globally. They said he was the deputy to the leader of the Islamic State West African Province, a group that split from Boko Haram in 2016.

Nigeria has been battling multiple armed groups, including at least two affiliated with the Islamic State, as it has grappled with a multifaceted security crisis. Islamic State affiliates in Africa have emerged as some of the continent's most active militant groups following the collapse of the group's caliphate in Syria and Iraq in 2017.

The U.S. sent troops to Nigeria in February to advise its military. In March the U.S. deployed drones there after Trump alleged that Christians are being targeted in Nigeria's security crisis.

“If confirmed, the killing of Al-Mainuki is huge because this is the first time a security agency has killed someone this high in the ranking of ISWAP.”

The operation comes amid heightened U.S. engagement in counterterrorism efforts in the region.