{"id":127098,"date":"2026-05-17T08:10:44","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T07:10:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=127098"},"modified":"2026-05-17T08:10:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T07:10:44","slug":"tinubu-confirms-elimination-of-isis-commander","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/exclusive\/tinubu-confirms-elimination-of-isis-commander\/","title":{"rendered":"Tinubu Confirms Elimination of ISIS Commander\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By Lizzy Chirkpi<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President Bola Tinubu has confirmed the killing of Abu-Bilal al-Manuki, a top commander of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), during a joint counterterrorism operation carried out by Nigerian and United States forces in the Lake Chad Basin.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a statement issued on Saturday, President Tinubu described the operation as a major breakthrough in the ongoing fight against terrorism across Nigeria and the wider West African region.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The announcement came shortly after US President Donald Trump revealed on his Truth Social platform that the high-ranking ISIS leader had been killed in a coordinated military strike involving American troops and the Nigerian Armed Forces.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump described al-Manuki, also known as Abu-Mainok, as one of ISIS\u2019 most influential global operatives who had been coordinating terrorist activities from Africa.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cAbu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in command of ISIS globally, thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing,\u201d Trump said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He added that the successful operation had removed \u201cthe most active terrorist in the world from the battlefield,\u201d noting that the development would significantly weaken ISIS operations internationally.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The US president also commended the Nigerian government and military for their cooperation and commitment to the mission.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Reacting to the development, President Tinubu praised the strong security collaboration between Nigeria and the United States, describing the operation as evidence of the effectiveness of international partnerships in combating terrorism.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cOur determined Nigerian Armed Forces, working closely with the Armed Forces of the United States, conducted a daring joint operation that dealt a heavy blow to the ranks of the Islamic State,\u201d Tinubu stated.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the president, preliminary intelligence reports confirmed that al-Manuki and several of his associates were killed during a targeted strike on their hideout within the Lake Chad Basin.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tinubu commended the professionalism, courage and resilience of the troops involved and reaffirmed Nigeria\u2019s determination to sustain military offensives against terrorist groups operating across the region.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cI extend my sincere gratitude to President Trump for his leadership and unwavering support in this effort,\u201d he added.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Lake Chad Basin, covering parts of Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon, has remained a major hotspot for insurgent activities linked to Boko Haram and ISWAP.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Security experts say growing intelligence-sharing and military coordination between Nigeria and its international allies have become increasingly critical in disrupting terrorist financing, logistics and cross-border operations.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The latest operation is expected to deepen counterterrorism cooperation between Abuja and Washington, particularly in intelligence gathering, surveillance and joint military actions against extremist groups in West Africa.<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lizzy Chirkpi President Bola Tinubu has confirmed the killing of Abu-Bilal al-Manuki, a top commander of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), during a joint counterterrorism operation carried&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":127099,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast 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