President Donald Trump said Friday that U.S. and Nigerian troops had killed a senior ISIS commander, claiming the operation had “significantly reduced” the extremist group’s power.
“Tonight, at my direction, our brave American and Nigerian troops perfectly executed a well-planned and highly complex mission to remove the world’s most active terrorists from the battlefield,” President Trump said in a post on Truth Social late Friday ET.
The president named the target as “ISIS’ second-in-command worldwide, Abbilal Arminuki,” adding: “He will no longer terrorize people in Africa or cooperate with plans to target Americans.”
Al Minuki was born in 1982 in Borno state in northeastern Nigeria, which borders Cameroon, Chad and Niger, according to documents from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control.
President Trump did not say where the attack occurred. He said Al-Minuki “thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know that he had a source who would keep him informed about what he was doing.”
He also thanked the Nigerian government for its cooperation and said, “With his removal, ISIS’ global operations will be significantly reduced.”
CNN has contacted the Nigerian government, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.
This is not the first time President Trump has accused the West African country of persecuting Christians and ordered the fatal shooting of an alleged ISIS fighter in Nigeria.
President Trump said in December that he had ordered “a powerful and deadly attack against ISIS” in northwestern Nigeria, claiming that ISIS was killing innocent Christians.
A month ago, President Trump said he was considering military action in response to what he called a “genocide” of Christians by Islamic militants.
At the time, Nigeria’s government denied claims it was not doing enough to protect Christians from violence and said it was embarrassed by President Trump’s suggestion of possible military intervention.
Christians and Muslims make up the two main religious groups in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country with an estimated 237.5 million people.
Experts and analysts say the reality on the ground is mixed, with both groups falling victim to attacks by Islamic extremists.
The country has long grappled with deep-rooted security problems caused by a variety of factors, including religiously motivated attacks.
Observers say other violent conflicts stem from communal and ethnic tensions, as well as conflicts between farmers and pastoralists over limited access to land and water resources.
This story has been updated.
CNN’s Kevin Liptak, Kara Fox and Nimi Princewell contributed reporting.
