US President Donald Trump on Saturday (May 16) announced that American forces, along with the Nigerian Armed Forces, had eliminated Abu Bilal al Minuki, whom he described as the second in command of ISIS globally. Trump said the operation was carried out in Africa following a “meticulously planned and very complex mission” based on intelligence inputs. “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. He will no longer terrorize the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans. With his removal, ISIS’s global operation is greatly diminished. Thank you to the Government of Nigeria for your partnership on this operation. GOD BLESS AMERICA!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. According to a report by the Counter Extremism Project, al Mainuki was primarily active in the Sahel region of Africa, a vast area spanning across 12 countries. He reportedly functioned as a senior commander of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and oversaw operations linked to the Lake Chad division under ISIS’s General Directorate of Provinces. US authorities had earlier identified him as a key figure involved in coordinating international funding and operational guidance for ISIS linked terror networks. Owing to his alleged role in global terror activities, the United States Department of State designated him as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) in June 2023. Sudhanshu Mishra is a Senior Copy Editor at Times Now. While his day-to-day work centres on news, his writing interests lie in the intersections of cu... View More