ABUJA, Nigeria — A senior leader of the Islamic State group has been killed in a high-stakes joint operation by Nigerian and United States forces in the Lake Chad Basin.
Washington described Abu-Bilal al-Manuki, who also goes by the name of Abu-Mainok, as the global number two in ISIS. He was killed in a targeted strike on his compound along with several of his deputies.
The operation represents a major escalation in the Western military involvement in the region and underscores an emerging counter-terrorism alliance between Abuja and Washington to crush jihadist networks in West Africa.
A ‘Heavy Blow’ in the Trenches
In a statement personally signed on Saturday, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu hailed the raid as a triumph of international military cooperation.
“Nigerian troops, working with the US Armed Forces, carried out a daring joint operation that dealt a heavy blow to the ranks of the Islamic State,” President Tinubu said. He described the operation as “a significant example of effective collaboration in the fight against terrorism.”
The Lake Chad Basin, where the strike took place, is a vast, marshy region straddling the borders of Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon. It has long served as a stronghold for Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap) and Boko Haram factions, who use the terrain to launch deadly attacks on both military bases and civilian communities.
‘Most Active Terrorist in the World’
US President Donald Trump had earlier confirmed the operation on Friday night via his social media platform, Truth Social, revealing that he had personally greenlit the mission.
“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,” Mr. Trump wrote.
The US leader added that Al-Manuki, who was placed under American sanctions in 2023, believed he could evade capture by operating from sub-Saharan Africa.
“Abu-Bilal al-Minuki thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing,” Mr. Trump said, adding that with the commander’s removal, “ISIS’s global operation is greatly diminished.”
A Deepening Alliance
The success of the raid underscores a significant deepening of intelligence-sharing and tactical cooperation between Nigeria and the US. President Tinubu expressed his gratitude to the US administration, looking ahead to “more decisive strikes against all terrorist enclaves across the nation.”
For years, Nigeria has fought a brutal insurgency in its northeastern region that has left tens of thousands dead and displaced millions.
While the elimination of Al-Manuki is being celebrated as a major victory in both Abuja and Washington, security analysts warn that the underlying factors driving extremism in the region—including poverty, climate displacement, and porous borders—remain a formidable challenge.
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