US Africa Command Conducts New Strikes Against ISIS in Nigeria

Unites States' African Command on Monday carried out additional kinetic strikes against ISIS in Northeastern Nigeria. According to news agency Reuters, the operation was carried out in coordination with the government of Nigeria. "US Africa Command, in coordination with the Government of Nigeria, conducted additional kinetic strikes against ISIS in Northeastern Nigeria. Intelligence confirmed the targets were ISIS militants. Complete assessments are ongoing. No US or Nigerian forces were harmed," the African command public affairs said in a statement. "The removal of these terrorists diminishes the group’s capacity to plan attacks that threaten the safety and security of the US and our partners. Africom remains committed to leveraging specialized US capabilities in support of our partners to defeat shared security threats," it added. This comes days after Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described as the global second-in-command of the Islamic State group, had been killed in a joint operation conducted by US and Nigerian forces. In a statement, US President Donald Trump said the operation was carried out at his direction and involved what he called a “meticulously planned and very complex mission” by American and Nigerian troops. "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 said through a post on Truth Social. He said that the ISIS leader had been tracked through intelligence sources despite attempting to hide in Africa. Trump added that al-Minuki had played a role in planning operations targeting Americans and destabilising parts of Africa, adding that his death would significantly weaken ISIS’s global network.