Trump, Tinubu say joint military operations kill ISIS commander who was first killed in 2024

Trump, Tinubu say joint military operations kill ISIS commander who was first killed in 2024

In statements released late Friday, May 15, and Saturday, May 16, 2026, both leaders lauded a “daring” and “meticulously planned” joint military operation in Africa that successfully neutralised Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki (also known as Abu-Mainok or Abu Bilal Minuki), whom Washington describes as the global second-in-command of ISIS.

However, the high-profile announcement has raised immediate eyebrows among military observers and security analysts.

Official records from Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters show that the same terrorist kingpin was declared dead more than two years ago, following a series of aggressive military campaigns in early 2024.

The 2026 Resurrection and Elimination

According to a fresh statement issued by Aso Villa on May 16, 2026, President Tinubu revealed that the Nigerian Armed Forces, working hand in hand with the US military, carried out an overnight strike on a compound in the volatile Lake Chad Basin.

“Early assessments confirm the elimination of the wanted IS senior leader, Abu-Bilal Al-Manuki, also known as Abu-Mainok, along with several of his lieutenants,” President Tinubu stated. He extended his appreciation to President Trump for his “leadership and unwavering support” in advancing shared security goals. Tinubu said.

On Truth Social, President Trump echoed the triumph, framing it as a decisive blow delivered by his administration. “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.

He added that Al-Minuki “thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing.”

The operation marks a significant escalation in U.S. military involvement in Nigeria, following months of pressure from Washington over the regional Islamist threat and the deployment of hundreds of U.S. troops to support local forces.

While the current administration celebrates the operation as a monumental breakthrough, historical briefings from Nigeria’s own military apparatus tell a story that is confusingly similar.

In March 2024, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, held a press briefing in Abuja to update journalists on the military’s counterterrorism successes in the northern region.

During that briefing, the military explicitly listed the masterminds slain by troops in separate actions between January and March 2024.

At the very top of that 2024 list of neutralised kingpins was: “Abu Bilal Minuki (aka Abubakar Mainok) – Head of Is-Al Furqan Province (ISGS and ISWAP).”

At the time, the Defence Headquarters boasted the elimination of Minuki alongside other notorious commanders like Haruna Isiya Boderi and Kachallah Damina, as part of an aggressive campaign that saw over 2,300 terrorists killed in the first quarter of 2024 alone.

The glaring discrepancy leaves several critical questions unresolved, which defence officials in both Abuja and Washington have yet to reconcile publicly.

In the murky landscape of West African counterterrorism—spanning the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin—terrorist commanders frequently employ aliases, and overlapping factions (such as ISWAP and ISGS) often see leadership positions quickly filled by successors who adopt the titles or names of their predecessors to maintain a fierce reputation.

Alternatively, it raises the bureaucratic risk of premature declarations of victory in past operations, where targets managed to escape or survive strikes that were assumed to be fatal.

Al-Minuki, a Nigerian national born in Borno State, had been placed under stringent U.S. sanctions as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the State Department in June 2023, making him a high-value target for both nations.

Whether Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki miraculously survived his reported 2024 demise, or whether the intelligence feeds of 2026 have neutralised a successor using the same infamous nom de guerre, the official stance from Trump and Tinubu remains firm: the ISIS deputy has been permanently removed from the battlefield—for the second time.

A security analyst who doesn’t want his name mentioned in the print said the same Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki was killed two years ago, which raised the authenticity of the earlier claim by the Nigerian military.

” It is shocking and unbelievable to wake up this morning to the news that President Trump claimed Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki was eliminated again. It is embarrassing that the same terrorist who was killed two years ago by the Nigerian military has resurrected. This is indeed unfortunate. “The source lamented.