US and Nigerian forces kill ISIS commander, Trump says

By Laura Sharman, CNN

(CNN) — US and Nigerian forces killed a senior commander in the ISIS militant group on Friday, President Donald Trump has said.

“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 in a Truth Social post late Friday ET.

The president named the target as “Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in command of ISIS globally,” adding, “He will no longer terrorize the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans.”

It is not the first fatal strike Trump has ordered on alleged Islamic State militants in Nigeria, who he has accused of persecuting Christians in the West African country.

In December, Trump said he had directed a “powerful and deadly strike against ISIS” in northwestern Nigeria, who he said had been killing innocent Christians.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

The-CNN-Wire
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