US President Donald Trump announced that the second‑in‑command of ISIS globally, Abu Bilal al‑Minouki, was killed in a joint operation by US and Nigerian forces.
"Tonight, at my direction, brave American forces and the Armed Forces of Nigeria flawlessly executed a meticulously planned and very complex mission to eliminate the most active terrorist in the world from the battlefield.” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Trump also thanked the Nigerian government for its cooperation in the operation.
The US president had previously claimed that Christians in Nigeria were being persecuted by Islamist militants, a statement denied by the Nigerian government.
US forces had also struck what they described as Islamist bases in north‑western Nigeria last Christmas following Trump’s earlier remarks.
Source: cnn.gr
