\nNigeria and the United States say they have killed a senior Islamic State (IS) leader in a joint-operation.
\nAbu-Bilal al-Minuki was described by US President Donald Trump as the \u201csecond in command of ISIS globally\u201d and \u201cthe most active terrorist in the world\u201d.
\nIS has radically shifted in recent years, with around 90% of its attacks now taking place in sub-Saharan Africa. Its Nigeria-based branch is by far the most active.
\nNigerian President Bola Tinubu said the two countries had carried out a \u201cdaring joint operation that dealt a heavy blow\u201d to IS.
\nAl\u2011Minuki was declared a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by Washington in 2023.
\nHe was killed along with \u201cseveral of his lieutenants\u201d during a strike on his compound in the Lake Chad Basin, a huge region of waterways and swampland shared by Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
\nA military spokesman said intelligence had established Minuki had established a fortified base in the area – in Metele, Borno state.
\nThe Lake Chad basin has long been a stronghold for Boko Haram and its rival faction, Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap).
\nThe Nigerian military said the operation began shortly after midnight on Saturday, after months of intelligence gathering and reconnaissance. It said the operation \u201czero casualties or loss of assets\u201d were recorded, describing the operation as evidence of growing cooperation between Nigerian and US forces.
\nIt said that al-Minuki had been promoted to \u201cHead of General Directorate of States\u201d, making him one of the most senior figures within the global IS hierarchy.
\nHe previously oversaw IS-linked operations across the Sahel and West Africa, including attacks targeting civilians and minority communities.
\nThe military also linked al-Minuki to the 2018 Dapchi schoolgirls kidnapping when more than 100 girls from a boarding school in north-eastern Nigeria were taken by militant group Boko Haram.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nigeria and the United States say they have killed a senior Islamic State (IS) leader in a joint-operation. Abu-Bilal al-Minuki was described by US President Donald Trump as the \u201csecond in command of ISIS globally\u201d and \u201cthe most active terrorist in the world\u201d. IS has radically shifted in recent years, with around 90% of its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-546944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n