Top ISIS Commander is Killed by American Forces as Trump says World’s ‘Most Active Terrorist’ has been ‘Eliminated’
By SOPHIE GABLE, US REPORTER
Donald Trump has announced that the world’s ‘most active terrorist’ has been killed by American and Nigerian forces.
Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, full name Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Ali al-Mainuki, the second in command of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), was ‘eliminated’ in Afria on Friday night.
‘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,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday night.
He added that Abu-Bilal al-Minuki was ‘hiding’ in Africa, and sources had informed US officials of his whereabouts.
‘He will no longer terrorize the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans,’ Trump wrote.
‘With his removal, ISIS’s global operation is greatly diminished. Thank you to the Government of Nigeria for your partnership on this operation.’
Abu-Bilal al-Minuki is a Nigerian national and was sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken designated him a Specially Designated Terrorist in 2023.
Donald Trump, pictured above on Friday on the White House lawn, announced that Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, the second in command of ISIS, was killed in Africa on Friday
Nigerian forces worked with American troops to locate and kill Abu-Bilal al-Minuki. Pictured above is a Nigerian Security Forces vehicle
Trump said that sources in Nigeria informed officials of Abu-Bilal al-Minuki’s whereabouts. Pictured above are Nigerian soldiers in 2015
ISIS- West Africa is one of the most significant and lethal branches of the terror group.
The National Counterterrorism Center estimates that there are between 4,000 and 7,000 fighters affiliated with ISIS in the region.
The group is concentrated in northeastern Nigeria, with operations throughout the Lake Chad region, including Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
The branch was formed in 2015 when Boko Haram, a violent Islamist insurgency, pledged its allegiance to ISIS.
Abu-Bilal al-Minuki was the leading official in the Lake Chad division of ISIS’s General Directorate of Provinces (GDP, according to the Counter Extremism Project.
He reportedly has held a high-ranking position in the terror group since 2018. Abu-Bilal al-Minuki was described as a ‘hardline militant.’
He ascended through the ranks of the terror group after the execution of Boko Haram leader Mamman Nur.
Nur was reportedly killed by subordinates shortly after he released abducted schoolgirls without demanding ransom, according to the Counter Extremism Project.
ISIS has a significant following in Nigeria, called ISIS- West Africa. Pictured above are soliders patroling the streets in Kebbi
Abu-Bilal al-Minuki reportedly ascended through the ranks after the execution of Mamman Nur, pictured above
It was believed that Nur was executed because other members of ISIS disagreed with his ‘soft’ approach. Abu-Bilal al-Minuki was Nur’s primary rival.
Nur was believed to be the mastermind behind a suicide bombing in 2011 that killed 21 people at the United Nations headquarters in Nigeria.
ISIS grew out of Sunni Iraqis during the Iraq War in the early 2000s as an affiliate of al-Qaeda.
The terror group expanded outward in Syria and had branched off to conflict zones in Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia by 2015.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the White House and the Pentagon for more information.
Original source: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15822977/isis-commander-killed-trump.html