Donald Trump has declared that US and Nigerian forces have killed the "number two" global leader of the Islamic State.
"Tonight, at my command, courageous 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," the US president said on his Truth Social platform.
"Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, ISIS's number two globally, thought he could hide in Africa, but he didn't know that we had sources keeping us informed of everything he was doing," Trump added.
Al-Minuki was placed under US sanctions in 2023 for links to the Islamic State group, The Guardian writes, reports Gazeta Express.
"He will no longer terrorize the people of Africa, nor will he help plan operations against Americans," Trump said. "With his elimination, ISIS's global operations have been significantly weakened."
Trump thanked the Nigerian government for its "partnership" in this operation, without indicating exactly where it took place.
Al-Minuki, a Nigerian national, was declared a "specially designated global terrorist" by the administration of former President Joe Biden in 2023, according to the US federal register.
Trump had previously accused Nigeria of failing to protect Christians from Islamist militants in the northwest of the country.
Nigeria denies discriminating against any religion, stating that its security forces target armed groups that attack both Christians and Muslims.
The US carried out strikes against Islamic State-linked militants in Nigeria in December. Since then, Washington has deployed drones and 200 troops to provide training and intelligence support to the Nigerian military against insurgencies linked to ISIS and Al-Qaeda, which are spreading across West Africa.
US forces were operating in a strictly non-combat role, Nigerian military officials had stated earlier this year.
t7 live
