“Tonight, at my direction, the brave American forces and the Armed Forces of Nigeria impeccably executed a carefully planned and highly complex mission to eliminate the most active terrorist in the world,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
He named Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, “the second-in-command of ISIS in the world”, as a target.
– He will no longer terrorize the people of Africa or help plan operations aimed at Americans – added the American president.
Al-Minuki is a native of Nigeria and was described by the US State Department in 2023, under the leadership of the then Biden administration, as the leader of ISIS in the Sahel region of Africa, according to CBS News.
During that period, he served as a senior official in one of the offices of the ISIS Provincial Directorate General, which, according to the State Department, “provides operational guidance and funding around the world.”
He was also placed on a special global list of terrorists in the USA in 2023, which imposed strict sanctions.
ISIS has been greatly reduced since the US, Iran and other forces took control of large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria starting in 2017. However, they remained present in parts of the Middle East and Africa, carrying out insurgent attacks.
This is not the first strike that Trump has ordered against Islamic State militants in Nigeria, accusing them of persecuting Christians in that country, writes CNN. In December, he said he had launched a “strong and deadly attack on ISIS” in northwestern Nigeria, adding that they were “killing innocent Christians,” Jutarnji reports.
(Vijesti.ba)
Chat readers
Join the discussion