The US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said it launched additional airstrikes against ISIL (ISIS) fighters in northeastern Nigeria in coordination with the Nigerian government.
According to an AFRICOM statement on Monday, the supplementary strikes took place on Sunday, and no US or Nigerian soldiers were injured. “The removal of these terrorists degrades their ability to plan attacks that threaten the security of the US and its partners,” the statement read. “AFRICOM is committed to leveraging unique US capabilities in support of partners defeating shared security threats.”
The joint US-Nigerian operation came two days after the two countries' presidents announced the killing of Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described as ISIL’s deputy commander. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said al-Minuki was targeted “together with some of his henchmen” in an airstrike on his base in the Lake Chad basin on Saturday.
US President Donald Trump first announced the news via a social media post on Friday, but did not reveal the time or location of the joint US-Nigerian military operation. Before pledging allegiance to ISIL in 2015, al-Minuki was a prominent leader of Boko Haram, according to the Nigerian military. They said al-Minuki oversaw key ISIL operations in the Sahel and West Africa for the group’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) branch.
Dennis Amachree, a former US State Department Diplomatic Security Service director in Nigeria, told Al Jazeera that the killing of al-Minuki “will create a huge gap in ISWAP's leadership and financing as several other high-ranking officials were also eliminated along with him.”
The latest wave of joint US-Nigerian attacks comes as dozens of US soldiers have been deployed to Nigeria in recent months to help fight armed groups, sharing intelligence and technical support. Nigerian Defense Headquarters spokesman Samaila Uba said US soldiers will not take a direct combat role but will share technical expertise under full Nigerian command.
Last Christmas, US forces conducted airstrikes against ISIL-linked fighters in northwestern Nigeria. When asked whether that was part of a broader military campaign, Trump told The New York Times: “I wanted to make it just one attack. But if they keep killing Christians, it will be many more attacks.” The Nigerian government denied Trump's allegations of mass killings of Christians in the West African nation. Analysts say people of all faiths, not only Christians, have been victims of armed groups.
