Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Islamic State West Africa Province has formally confirmed the elimination of Abu-Bilal al‑Mainuki, described by US President Donald Trump as the “second‑in‑command of ISIS globally”, in a joint US‑Nigerian special forces raid deep inside the Lake Chad basin. In a lengthy statement circulated through its official media channels on Thursday, 28 May 2026, the jihadist group acknowledged that al‑Mainuki was killed during the operation, while attempting to portray those who died as “martyrs” who defended a media headquarters that was intentionally targeted. The group also revealed that American forces had tracked the commander for six months using “all types of drones” before launching what it called a “massive multi‑point airborne landing”.
The operation that removed al‑Mainuki was executed on Friday, 15 May 2026, in Metele, Borno State – an area within the Lake Chad basin long considered a strategic stronghold of ISWAP. US President Donald Trump announced the mission in a late‑night Truth Social post, praising “brave American forces and the Armed Forces of Nigeria” for “flawlessly executing a meticulously planned and very complex mission to eliminate the most active terrorist in the world from the battlefield”. Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu confirmed the joint action in a separate statement, describing it as “a significant example of effective collaboration in the fight against terrorism” and expressing gratitude to the United States for its partnership.
Abu‑Bilal al‑Mainuki (also known as Abu‑Bilal al‑Minuki or Abour Mainok) was born in Borno State in 1982. According to Nigerian military officials, he was a prominent Boko Haram leader before pledging allegiance to ISIL in 2015. Under the ISIS umbrella, he became the shadow commander of ISWAP, overseeing the group’s operations in the Sahel and West Africa and acting as a key conduit for international terrorist financing. He had previously been listed as a US‑designated Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), sanctioned by the US Department of State in June 2023 for coordinating funding and operational support for ISIS‑linked terror cells. Trump described him as “the most active terrorist in the world”, adding that al‑Mainuki “thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing”.
The Pentagon confirmed that the strike had been months in the making. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that American forces had “hunted this top ISIS leader in Nigeria who was killing Christians, and we killed him – and his entire posse”. He praised the “exceptional lethality, patience and skill” of US forces operating alongside a “willing and capable partner”. In a rare acknowledgement of the scale of the operation, US Air Force General Dagvin RM Anderson, Commander of Africa Command, later revealed that Nigerian intelligence agencies – including the Department of State Services, the National Intelligence Agency and the Defence Intelligence Agency – had been instrumental in developing the target. “The Nigerians have been instrumental throughout the last several months, developing the target, helping us with the intelligence and providing support,” Anderson said. “So, it could not have been done by our own forces. We needed to do that in conjunction with them.”
ISWAP’s own account of the raid corroborated the use of intensive American surveillance. “What prompted crusader America to cross all these distances all the way to these forests?” the group asked in its statement. “They used all types of drones and carried out a massive multi‑point landing with heavy gunfire, attempting to capture a single Muslim man in the jungles of Africa.” The terrorists further admitted that the “newly established media headquarters in the middle of the forests” was deliberately targeted, and that members of its media unit fought “until death without surrendering”. Describing the slain media operatives as “memorisers of the Book of Allah” and a “unique media elite”, ISWAP nonetheless acknowledged the elimination of its senior commander.
The operation resulted in additional significant casualties. The Defence Headquarters of Nigeria later disclosed that at least 175 ISIS fighters were killed in the coordinated counter‑terrorism operation, including several foreign ISIS elements and women associated with the insurgent camp. Security analysts believe the raid destroyed ISWAP’s media infrastructure and command network in the Lake Chad axis, delivering a major blow to the group’s propaganda apparatus and operational command.
Al‑Mainuki’s death has raised new concerns about potential retaliation attacks. A Nextier report warned that the elimination of such a senior figure could spark “fresh terror threats” as the group attempts to prove its resilience. However, Dennis Amachree, a former director of the US Department of State Services in Nigeria, told Al Jazeera that al‑Mainuki’s death would “create a huge vacuum in the leadership and financing of ISWAP, as many top officers were decimated with him”. The killing marked the second high‑profile ISWAP leader to be eliminated in recent years, following the 2021 death of its founder, Abu Musab al‑Barnawi, and the 2023 neutralisation of several of his successors.
The confirmation from ISWAP ended a period of official ambiguity, coming nearly two weeks after the initial announcement of the strike and after the Nigerian military had to clarify that a previous 2024 report of al‑Mainuki’s death was a case of mistaken identity. The group’s statement, while defiant in tone, removed any remaining doubt about his fate. As one US military source put it, “the most active terrorist in the world” is no longer on any battlefield.
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