LAGOS: A senior leader of the militant Islamic State group, described as “the most active terrorist in the world”, has been killed in a joint operation by US and Nigerian forces in the west African country, the two countries’ presidents said.

Under US sanctions since 2023, Abu-Bilal al-Minuki was the second-in-command of IS worldwide, according to US President Donald Trump and the two militaries.

The killing comes as IS activity is increasingly concentrated in Africa, hitting a record high of 86 percent in the first quarter of 2026, up from 49pc in all of 2024, according to global conflict monitor ACLED report released this week.

Trump said in a post on Truth Social announcing the killing, that “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”.

The Nigerian defence forces said al-Minuki was a “senior ISIS leader and one of the world’s most active terrorists”, using another name for the group.

As director of global operations for IS, al-Minuki provided strategic guidance on media and financial operations and “the development and manufacturing of weapons, explosives and drones”, according to the Nigerian military and US Africa Command (AFRICOM).

“Al-Minuki was the most active terrorist in the world and has a significant history of involvement in planning attacks and directing hostage taking,” said AFRICOM.

“Nigerian armed forces, working closely with the armed forces of the United States, conducted a daring joint operation that dealt a heavy blow to the ranks of the Islamic State,” Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu said, confirming the killing.

Tinubu said in his statement that al-Minuki, also known as Abu-Mainok, was slain along with his lieutenants, “on his compound in the Lake Chad Basin”, a restive region straddling Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

The operation was “a meticulously planned and highly complex precision air-land operation” carried out Saturday from just after midnight through 4am, the Nigerian army said.

Nigerian military spokesman Sani Uba said al-Minuki had established a “concealed and fortified enclave” at a remote village in the Borno state in the northeast, the epicentre of a 17-year armed insurgency.

‘Critical node’

The Nigerian military sees al-Minuki’s death as removing a “critical node through which IS coordinated and directed operations across different regions of the world”.

Nigeria has long been battling insurgents, including Boko Haram and regional offshoots of the IS organisation, primarily the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

Since late 2025, Nigeria has been under pressure from the United States, which has accused it of not doing enough to combat the militant threat.

On Christmas Day, the United States, in collaboration with Nigerian authorities, carried out airstrikes in northwestern Sokoto state targeting fighters from the IS in the Sahel group, usually active in neighbouring Niger. Washington has since deployed hundreds of troops to Nigeria to support and train its forces.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2026