FRANCE PERSPECTIVE

Paris, May 16, 2026. It was through a late message on Truth Social that Donald Trump announced, Friday evening, the death of Abu-Bilal al-Minuki during a joint military operation conducted by American and Nigerian forces in the Lake Chad basin. 'Tonight, on my instructions, the courageous American forces and the armed forces of Nigeria executed perfectly a meticulously planned mission,' wrote the American president, presenting the target as 'the number two of ISIS on a global scale'.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu confirmed the operation in a statement, indicating that al-Minuki had been killed 'along with several of his lieutenants' during a strike on his compound in the Lake Chad basin. For Abuja, this was 'a significant example of effective collaboration in the fight against terrorism'.

French media outlets, notably RFI and France 24, however provided more nuanced analysis regarding the actual rank of the jihadist eliminated. According to Wassim Nasr, specialist in Islamist movements for France 24, al-Minuki did not formally hold the position of number two globally within the organization. He was instead 'the key figure in the relationship between the West African and Sahelian branches of ISIS,' which made his elimination 'a serious blow to both branches'.

Born in 1982 in Borno State in northeastern Nigeria, al-Minuki had been placed under American sanctions in 2023. A former member of Boko Haram, he had played a central role in bringing this group into the Islamic State, before a split led to the creation of the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP). A United Nations Security Council report published in February 2026 raised the possibility that he might have assumed leadership of ISIS's general provincial command following the death of Abu Khadidja in Iraq in March 2025.

Le Monde notes that this operation is the second American military intervention in Nigeria in the span of five months: in December 2025, the American military had already conducted strikes in Sokoto State. The context is one of strengthened military cooperation between Washington and Abuja, which General John Brennan, a senior AFRICOM official, described in late January as a 'much more aggressive' posture of the Trump administration in Africa.

French media also note the rhetorical dimension of Trump's statements, which regularly assert that Christians in Nigeria are victims of 'genocide'—a thesis that Abuja and the majority of experts reject, as the violence affects both communities indiscriminately. This reading tends to frame military operations in Nigeria within an American domestic political context as much as within a coherent counterterrorism strategy.