On 15 and 16 May 2026, a joint military operation by US and Nigerian forces in the Lake Chad basin led to the death of Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, with no losses reported on either side. Donald Trump announced the operation on Truth Social, describing him as the "global number two of the Islamic State," while Nigerian President Bola Tinubu confirmed the killing. A Nigerian national born in 1982 in Borno State, al-Minuki had been placed on the US list of "specially designated global terrorists" in 2023.
The event is part of a deepening of security cooperation between Washington and Abuja that began in December 2025, marked by an earlier strike in Sokoto and the deployment of around 200 US soldiers in an advisory and training role. The Lake Chad basin is the epicenter of a jihadist insurgency led by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), now credited with close to 90% of the attacks claimed worldwide by the Islamic State, even as the group's capabilities contract in the Middle East. For Abuja, taking part in these joint operations amounts to an assertion of national military capacity, in a country where two decades of insurgency have exposed the limits of its security forces.
Several points remain disputed. Al-Minuki's rank is contested: some actors use the "global number two" label, while others describe him as an ISWAP deputy commander or a regional coordinator. The lack of independent confirmation of the death and the organization's silence are highlighted by some, who note that a similar announcement had already been made in 2024. The lasting significance of the killing also divides observers: some call it unprecedented, while others argue that a single strike cannot disorganize a group with established succession mechanisms.
