The United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) and the Nigerian Armed Forces have conducted coordinated airstrikes against ISIS-linked terrorist targets in northeastern Nigeria, in what officials describe as one of the most significant joint counterterrorism offensives in recent months.
The operation targeted camps and operational infrastructure linked to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), an ISIS-affiliated extremist group that has sustained insurgent activities across Nigeria’s northeast and parts of the Lake Chad Basin.
Authorities released aerial footage of the coordinated strikes, showing precision bombardments on suspected terrorist compounds, logistics hubs, weapons storage sites, and fortified checkpoints in remote areas believed to be under militant control.
According to the Nigerian Armed Forces, the operation resulted in the elimination of approximately 175 ISIS fighters during a second wave of strikes, while also disrupting supply routes and operational networks used by the group.
Military officials said the strikes destroyed weapons caches, military equipment, financial networks, and logistical infrastructure used to sustain insurgent operations across the region.
In a statement, the Nigerian Armed Forces confirmed that the operations also led to the killing of several senior ISIS operatives, including Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described as one of the most influential ISIS-linked figures operating within the region.
According to the military, al-Minuki played a central role in coordinating terrorist financing, recruitment operations, logistics, and external attack planning targeting civilians and security installations both within Nigeria and beyond.
“Al-Minuki played a central role in ISIS external operations, coordinating terrorist financing, recruitment, logistics and attack planning targeting Nigerians and innocent civilians around the world. His death severely disrupts ISIS command, operational coordination and external attack networks.” the statement read.
Officials stated that his death represents a major disruption to ISIS operational command structures and external attack coordination capabilities within West Africa.
Other militants reportedly killed in the strikes include Abd-al Wahhab, identified as a senior ISWAP leader responsible for coordinating attacks and propaganda distribution; Abu Musa al-Mangawi, another senior operative within the group; and Abu al-Muthanna al-Muhajir, described as a key member of ISWAP’s media production network and a close associate of al-Minuki.
The joint operation reflects growing military cooperation between AFRICOM and Nigeria amid intensified regional counterterrorism efforts targeting extremist groups operating across the Sahel and Lake Chad regions.
ISWAP emerged from a split within Boko Haram and has evolved into one of the deadliest insurgent organisations in West Africa, carrying out attacks against military formations, civilian communities, humanitarian workers, and regional infrastructure.
Security analysts note that the group has increasingly relied on cross-border mobility, illegal taxation, kidnapping networks, and digital propaganda operations to sustain its activities despite years of military offensives by regional forces.
Nigeria has in recent years intensified the use of coordinated intelligence-led operations, aerial surveillance, and multinational military cooperation under frameworks involving regional and international partners to combat insurgent threats.
The Nigerian Armed Forces stated that the latest operation reinforces their longstanding commitment to “hunt down and eliminate terrorists wherever they operate within Nigerian territory.”
Military authorities further stressed that joint operations with international partners would continue in an effort to dismantle extremist networks threatening national security and regional stability across West Africa.
Related Posts
