Trump says ISIS second-in-command killed in Africa

ISIS TerrorTrump says ISIS second-in-command killed in AfricaPresident Donald Trump said that Abu-Bilal al-Minuki was killed in an operation in which American forces partnered with Nigerian forces.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00US President Donald Trump arrives to speak to members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding Marine One in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, May 1, 2026.Jim LoScalzo / Bloomberg via Getty ImagesShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 16, 2026, 1:09 AM EDTBy Phil HelselPresident Donald Trump late Friday said that a top Islamic State group commander has been killed in Africa in a joint operation with Nigeria’s armed forces.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, the second-in-command of the militant group, was killed, Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “Tonight, at my direction, brave American forces and the Armed Forces of Nigeria flawlessly executed a meticulously planned and very complex mission,” Trump said.The Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, has wreaked havoc in Iraq, Syria and other parts of the world where supporters have carried out terror attacks.Its elusive leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, was killed in 2019. Abu Hafs al Qurayshi was named leader of the group in August 2023, the U.S. Congressional Research Service said in a report.In 2023 the U.S. State Department designated al-Minuki as a “specially designated global terrorist,” which imposes sanctions on any property in the U.S. and restricts transactions.While the Islamic State suffered military setbacks and the loss of a stronghold in Syria, last year’s annual U.S. threat assessment said it “remains the world’s largest Islamic terrorist organization.”In 2024, a spokesman for the group “publicly hailed the group’s Africa expansion,” the report said.ShareAdd NBC News to GooglePhil HelselPhil Helsel is a reporter for NBC News.