Trump says US has killed 'the most active terrorist in the world' in complex planned mission

President Donald Trump has announced the killing of a top ISIS commander, describing the mission as one of the biggest strikes against the terror group in years.

In a joint operation with Nigerian forces, Trump revealed that Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, widely believed to be ISIS' second in command, had been eliminated.

"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 posted to Truth Social.

The president appeared to relish the element of surprise in the operation.

"Abu-Bilal al-Minuki second in command of ISIS globally, thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing," Trump added.

Who was Abu-Bilal al-Minuki?

Al-Minuki, a Nigerian national, had been named a "specially designated global terrorist" by the Biden administration in 2023.

At the time, the State Department identified him as a Sahel-based ISIS senior leader within the group's General Directorate of Provinces - the administrative body responsible for providing operational guidance and funding to ISIS Cells around the world.

Trump thanked the Nigerian Government for its "partnership" on the mission. though neither the exact location nor the method of the strike were disclosed in his post. Nigerian President Bola Tinabu later confirmed the raid took place at a compound in the Lake Chad basin.

"He will no longer terrorize the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans," Trump posted.

Trump said the US are working closely with the Nigerian Army (Photo by JORIS BOLOMEY/AFP via Getty Images)

Where did the ISIS strike take place?

The killing marks a huge escalation in US military involvement in West Africa.

Washington deployed drones and around 200 troops to Nigeria earlier this year to provide training and intelligence support to the Nigerian military against both ISIS and al-Qaeda-linked insurgencies spreading across the region. Nigerian military officials had previously said US forces were operating in a strictly non-combat role.

It follows US air strikes in Nigeria's Sokoto State on Christmas Day last year, which targeted ISIS-linked fighters operating in the region.

Trump announced the strikes at the time with a post on Truth Social saying "Merry Christmas to all, including the dead terrorists".

The US deployed drones in West Africa last year (Ore Huiying/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump has previously accused Nigeria of failing to do enough to protect Christians from Islamist militants in the country's north-west. Nigeria denies discriminating on religious grounds, saying its security forces target armed groups that attack both Christian and Muslim communities.

Who is ISIS' leader?

The current overall leader, or 'caliph', of ISIS is Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, who has held the position since August 2023. Very little is publicly known about him, as ISIS leadership operates in deep secrecy with most members using assumed names.

He is the forth caliph the group has had, following the founding leader Abu Bakar al-Baghdadi (killed in a US raid in Syria in 2019), then Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quarashi (killed 2022), then Abu al-Husseini al-Quarashi (killed 2023).