United States President Donald Trump has announced the killing of Abubakar Mainok, also known as Abu-Bilal al-Mainuki, a senior Islamic State commander described as the group’s global second-in-command. Mr Trump called the attack a “meticulously planned and very complex mission” carried out in partnership with Nigerian.
Mr Mainok, according to documents obtained from US registers, was specially designated as a “global terrorist” in 2023. One of the documents traced his origin to Mainok, a town in Kaga Local Government Area of Borno State.
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In a statement posted by the White House on X, Mr Trump said al-Minuki had been tracked through intelligence sources despite attempting to remain hidden on the continent. He praised the cooperation between the US and Nigerian, saying the operation had removed “the most active terrorist in the world from the battlefield.”
If confirmed, the operation would mark a significant milestone in the recent counterterrorism collaboration between the United States and Nigeria, which led to the deployment of about 200 US troops to the West African country after a diplomatic faceoff between Washington and Abuja over what President Trump described as “Christian genocide.”
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Although the Nigerian government has not issued an official statement about the mission, sources familiar with the situation confirmed the incident to PREMIUM TIMES.
One source said Mr Mainok was killed in the North-east.
Security analysts have long linked Mr Mainok to the Islamic State’s operations in West Africa and the Sahel. A 2023 report by the Jamestown Foundation identified him as a senior Islamic State figure coordinating activities between the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and IS-Sahel networks through the group’s al-Furqan office.
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