U.S. and Nigerian forces killed a leader of the Islamic State group in Nigeria in a mission carried out Friday, U.S — President Donald Trump said in a social media post. Trump identified the target as Abu Bakr al-Mainuki, whom he called the group’s “second in command globally.” Al-Mainuki was based in the Sahel area and had been sanctioned by the U.S. in 2023, according to the Counter Extremism Project. He took over the IS branch in West Africa after the group’s previous leader, Mamman Nur, was killed in 2018.

Joint Operation and Strategic Partnership

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu confirmed the operation and said Al-Mainuki was killed alongside “several of his lieutenants” during a strike on his compound in the Lake Chad Basin. Trump thanked the Nigerian government for its “partnership” on the operation, though he did not disclose the location or the method of attack. The U.S. has deployed drones and 200 troops to provide training and intelligence support to the Nigerian military against Islamic State and al Qaeda-linked insurgencies, according to The Guardian.

Al-Mainuki was designated as a “specially designated global terrorist” by the former Biden administration in 2023. At the time, the U.S. State Department described him as a senior leader of the Islamic State in the Sahel and part of its general directorate of provinces, which provides “operational guidance and funding around the world.”

Controversy Over Ranks and Regional Tensions

Analysts have questioned Trump’s claim that Al-Mainuki was the Islamic State’s “second in command globally,” noting that he was actually the deputy to Abu Musab al-Barnawi, the leader of the Islamic State West African Province, who was reported to have died in 2021. Trump has previously accused Nigeria of failing to protect Christians from Islamist militants in the north-west — Nigeria denies discriminating against any religion and says its security forces target armed groups that attack both Christians and Muslims.

Meanwhile, Trump has ordered the U.S. military to draw up three plans for a potential military operation in Nigeria against “Jihadists” and terrorist groups, despite the Tinubu administration’s opposition. The president warned that U.S. forces would enter Nigeria “guns-a-blazing” if the government continued to allow the killing of Christians, which he has labeled as genocide. He also re-designated Nigeria as a “country of particular concern.”

Recent U.S. Military Actions and Future Threats

The announcement comes after the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) reported multiple strikes against more than 30 Islamic State targets in Syria in February. These operations. Part of a broader effort to “maintain unrelenting military pressure on the remnants of the terrorist network,” included attacks on infrastructure and weapon storage sites using planes, helicopters, and drones. In the past 12 months. CENTCOM and its allies have detained more than 300 Islamic State members and killed over 20, according to a recent statement.

Trump also highlighted a recent conversation with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, saying that “everything related to Syria in that area is going very, very well.” CENTCOM noted that nearly 25 ISIS leaders have been eliminated or captured since the 19 December attack in Syria. The U.S. and its allies have conducted 11 missions in the region since then, resulting in the destruction of four ISIS weapon caches and the killing or capture of at least seven members.

According to CENTCOM. There have been at least 11 plots or attacks against U.S. targets inspired by the Islamic State in the past year. The commander of CENTCOM, Admiral Brad, said in a statement that the U.S. is “firmly committed to working with regional partners to eradicate the threat ISIS poses to the security of the United States and the region.”