US3 min(s) read
Published 14:20 16 May 2026 GMT
Donald Trump claims US has taken out 'world's most active terrorist' in latest military operation
Donald Trump has announced that joint US and Nigerian forces have killed a senior ISIS head during what he described as a “meticulously planned and very complex mission” in Africa.
Posting on Truth Social on Friday, the US president claimed Abu Bakr al-Mainuki, also referred to as Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, had been eliminated during the operation.
Trump announces major ISIS update
Trump described him as the “most active terrorist in the world” and said he served as the second-in-command figure within ISIS globally.
“Tonight, at my direction, brave American forces and the Armed Forces of Nigeria flawlessly executed a meticulously planned and very complex mission to eliminate the most active terrorist in the world from the battlefield,” Trump wrote.
According to the Counter Extremism Project, al-Mainuki was a Nigerian national who operated largely throughout the Sahel region, an area spanning around 12 African countries.
He reportedly held a senior leadership role within Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and helped oversee operations linked to ISIS’s General Directorate of Provinces.
Trump claimed the terror leader believed he could evade capture while hiding in Africa.
“Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in command of ISIS globally, thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing,” the president wrote.
“He will no longer terrorize the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans.”
The president also argued that the operation would significantly weaken ISIS internationally, adding: “With his removal, ISIS’s global operation is greatly diminished.”
He ended the statement by thanking Nigerian authorities for assisting in the mission, writing: “Thank you to the Government of Nigeria for your partnership on this operation.”
Nigeria has spent years battling multiple extremist organizations, including factions linked to ISIS. Following the collapse of the group’s self-declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria in 2017, several ISIS-affiliated groups expanded across parts of West Africa.
Trump's continued ISIS attacks
Trump previously confirmed that US forces carried out strikes against ISIS targets in Nigeria last December, though few details were publicly released at the time.
Earlier this year, the president also deployed US troops to Nigeria in an advisory role before later authorizing drone deployments, claiming Christians were being specifically targeted amid the country’s ongoing security crisis.
The announcement came while Trump was visiting Beijing for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, where discussions reportedly focused on trade tensions, as well as the war in Iran, and Taiwan.
Speaking to Fox News during the trip, Trump said he hoped tensions between China and Taiwan would ease.
“You know, we're supposed to travel 9,500 miles (15,289km) to fight a war. I'm not looking for that,” he said. “I want them to cool down. I want China to cool down.”