The Nigerian army said on Tuesday that joint air strikes with the United States killed 175 ISIS fighters in the northeast of the country, including the second-in-command of the extremist organization.
The remote region has been witnessing an extremist insurgency since 2009, first by Boko Haram, and then its affiliate and rival, the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP).
According to the United Nations, more than 40,000 people have been killed and two million others displaced.
US and Nigerian forces killed Abu Bilal Al-Minuki, one of the leaders of the Islamic State, described as “the most active terrorist” in the world, in a remote village in the northeast of the country last weekend.
The Nigerian army said on Tuesday that so far “175 ISIS fighters have been eliminated from the battlefield.”
He added, “The joint strikes resulted in the destruction of ISIS checkpoints, weapons caches, logistical centers, military equipment, and financial networks used to support terrorist operations.”
As director of ISIS’s global operations, Al-Minoki provided strategic direction on media and financial operations and “the development and manufacture of weapons, explosives, and drones,” according to the Nigerian military and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM).
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After Minuki’s death was announced, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu thanked his American counterpart, Donald Trump, for his “leadership and steadfast support.”
He said he looked forward to “more decisive strikes against all terrorist pockets across the country.”
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According to the military statement issued on Tuesday, the operations that took place in the past few days led to the killing of other key figures in ISIS.
Among them is Abdul Wahab, who is said to be “one of the senior leaders” of ISIS in West Africa, “responsible for coordinating attacks and distributing propaganda.”
Abu Musa al-Minjawi was said to have been a high-ranking member of the Islamic State in West Africa, while Abu al-Muthanna al-Muhajir was a “senior manager of the media production team and a close confidant of al-Minuki.”
Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa have recently intensified their attacks on villages, police stations, workers such as loggers and poachers, as well as military bases, causing the deaths of many civilians and senior army officers.
The escalation in attacks prompted Tinubu to declare a nationwide state of emergency in 2025, and prompted the US President to threaten Nigeria with military intervention.
Trump claimed that Christians in Nigeria are being “persecuted” and are victims of “genocide” carried out by “terrorists.” The government in Abuja and most experts reject this claim, and point out that the violence generally affects Christians and Muslims indiscriminately.
The US military, in coordination with the Nigerian authorities, carried out air strikes on December 25 of last year in Sokoto State, northwest of the country, targeting what Washington described as jihadists.
Northern Nigeria faces violence from criminal gangs known locally as bandits, who frequently carry out attacks on villages and carry out mass kidnappings for ransom.
AFRICOM has also taken action against Islamic State and Al-Shabaab militants in Somalia, where it has intensified air strikes since the beginning of the year.
