U.S. Army soldiers share tactics and training with a little over 200 Nigerian Army Soldiers north of the capital in Jaji. On Friday, U.S. forces in coordination with their Nigerian counterparts killed a senior Islamic State group leader and other top leaders of the terrorist group, U.S. Africa Command said. (Maj. James Sheehan/ U.S. Army)
STUTTGART, Germany — U.S. forces in coordination with their Nigerian counterparts killed a senior Islamic State group leader and other top leaders of the terrorist group, U.S. Africa Command said Saturday.
The operation was carried out Friday on the orders of President Donald Trump, who earlier this year sent a contingent of American troops to Nigeria to support operations against militants in the country.
No U.S. service members were harmed in the mission, AFRICOM said in a statement.
Trump, in a social media posting late Friday said the “meticulously planned and very complex mission” eliminated “the most active terrorist in the world from the battlefield.”
The operation targeted Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, the director of global operations for ISIS along with other leaders, according to AFRICOM.
“As President Trump shared last night, AFRICOM in coordination with the Armed Forces of Nigeria, bravely and valiantly conducted a successful mission that resulted in the elimination of Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, and multiple other ISIS leaders,” said AFRICOM’s Gen. Dagvin Anderson said.
He said the mission underscores the value of a growing U.S.-Nigeria partnership that has taken shape in recent months.
“Make no mistake, our two nations will relentlessly pursue and neutralize terrorist threats and are committed to protecting our people and interests,” Anderson said.
Al-Minuki provided strategic guidance to the ISIS global network on media and financial operations as well as the development and manufacturing of weapons, explosives and drones, AFRICOM said. He also has a long history of planning attacks and directing hostage-taking operations, the command said.
Earlier this year, the U.S. dispatched around 200 troops to train Nigerian military forces battling Islamist militants.
The arrival of U.S. forces in Nigeria came after Christmas Day airstrikes ordered by Trump against Islamic extremists in the country.
In a statement at the time, Trump said that if terrorists “did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay.”
The security situation in Nigeria, particularly in its northern region, has been in disarray for over a decade.
Various Islamic militants, such as those linked to ISIS and others from the group Boko Haram, have long been active in that region.
Both Christians and Muslims have been targets of attacks by the extremists.
