US President Donald Trump has announced the neutralization of Abu Bilal al-Minuki, whom he described as the second person in the global ISIS hierarchy and "the most active terrorist in the world."
According to Trump, the operation was carried out by US forces in cooperation with the Nigerian Armed Forces, following a coordinated military and intelligence action.
In a post on the Truth Social platform, the US president stated that the mission was carefully planned and executed "without any problems."
"Tonight, under my command, courageous American forces and the Nigerian Armed Forces flawlessly executed a carefully planned and highly complex mission to eliminate the world's most active terrorist from the battlefield," Trump wrote.
He added that Abu Bilal al-Minuki, who according to the US was posing as the deputy leader of ISIS at the global level, believed he could be hiding in Africa, but was under the surveillance of US intelligence agencies.
"He believed he could hide in Africa, but he didn't know that we had sources keeping us informed about what he was doing," Trump said.
So far, there has been no independent confirmation from international authorities or the Islamic State organization itself regarding the identity and elimination of al-Minuki.