US President Donald Trump said that US and Nigerian forces killed a senior Islamic State (IS) leader in Nigeria during a joint operation conducted on Friday.
In a late-night social media post, Trump said Abu Bakr al-Mainuki, whom he described as the group’s second-in-command globally, was killed while hiding in Africa. He claimed al-Mainuki was closely tracked through intelligence sources.
An official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said al-Mainuki played a key role in IS operations and financing and had been plotting attacks against the United States and its interests.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu confirmed the strike, saying al-Mainuki and several lieutenants were killed at a compound in the Lake Chad Basin.
Military spokesperson Sani Uba described the raid as a complex air-land operation conducted over three hours without casualties. He called it the most significant counterterrorism success in the region since 2015.
Born in Borno in 1982, al-Mainuki later led IS’s West Africa branch. Analysts say his global rank remains unverified, though some believe he rose within IS leadership this year. But he was sanctioned by the US in 2023.
The operation follows a US-Nigeria security partnership launched last year to tackle militancy in the region.
