President Donald Trump announced late Friday that the second-highest leader of ISIS globally has been killed in joint US-Nigerian strikes, as part of a joint military operation, reports Anadolu.

“Tonight, at my command, brave American forces and the Nigerian Armed Forces perfectly executed a carefully planned and highly complex mission to eliminate the world’s most active terrorist from the battlefield,” he wrote. Trump on his Truth Social platform.

Trump said Abu-Bilal al-Minuki “thought he might be hiding in Africa,” but claimed that American intelligence sources had tracked his movements.

“He will no longer terrorize the people of Africa, nor will he help plan operations against Americans,” he said. “With his elimination, ISIS’ global operation has been significantly weakened,” Trump added.

He also thanked the Nigerian government for partnering in the operation.

Nigeria has long faced attacks by armed groups, including the extremist group Boko Haram and the ISIS-linked ISWAP (DEASH), in various parts of the country.

The government has taken steps to address the threat, including deploying troops and cooperation with international partners.

In February, the US deployed about 100 soldiers to northern Nigeria to provide training, intelligence sharing and technical support to local forces as attacks by armed groups increased.

Source: prizrenpost