Here is what we know about the high-profile leader and the mission operation that killed him:

- Who was the IS leader killed? -

Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, also known as al-Manuki or Abu-Mainok, was a Nigerian born in Mainok town in Borno State in the northeast, the epicentre of a 17-year armed insurgency.

He was placed under US sanctions in 2023, when the State Department labelled him a "specially designated global terrorist".

The United States and Nigeria said Al-Minuki was the second-in-command of IS worldwide.

He was a leader in the jihadist Boko Haram group before pledging allegiance to IS in 2015, according to the Nigerian military, adding he oversaw IS-linked operations across the Sahel and West Africa, including attacks against "ethnic and religious minority communities"

According to the Nigerian foreign ministry, he was responsible for some of the recent attacks against the military in the country.

- How was operation executed? -

Nigerian military described it as "a meticulously planned and highly complex precision air-land operation", with spokesman Major-General Michael Onoja stressing that no American boots were on ground. He told AFP: "It was a joint operation."

The US provided "intelligence, assets and other force enablers ... (like) satellite photos, intelligence surveillance reconnaissance assets", Onoja told local AriseTV news.

Citing unnamed officials, The New York Times, reported that it was "a helicopter-borne assault by commandos from both countries" carried out by "about two dozen Nigerian and American Special Operations commandos".

An intel source told AFP there was no ground offensive, just airstrikes on three locations: Metele, Dogon Chukwu and Matari -- all Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) strongholds in the Lake Chad region, a restive zone straddling Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

The source said Al-Manuki was tracked through phones he used, which US intel tracked. He was using five different phone numbers but his satellite phone was the one he used more often. "So, he was tracked in Matele through his Thuraya phone," said the source.

At least 17 other militants were killed alongside al-Manuki, including three Maghrebi jihadists who were drone instructors. The 17 killed included nine women, believed to be wives of senior commanders, the intel source said.

- What next? -

During President Donald Trump's first term, US-backed forces took on IS in its strongholds in Syria and Iraq in 2019, but West Africa has become the world's most active zone of Islamist militancy, according to recent global conflict monitor ACLED report, which showed that Islamic State activity in Africa hit a record high in the first quarter of 2026.

Trump celebrated the killing, saying al-Manuki "will no longer terrorize the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans".

The killing of al-Manuki "marks a significant tactical and operational success in the joint Nigeria and US counter-terrorism campaign" against jihadist groups, said security expert Kabir Adamu of Abuja-based Beacon Security and Intelligence.

However al-Mainuki's elimination "is likely to have limited short and mid term strategic impact on the terror threat" unless similar "intelligence-led precision attacks" are sustained while the groups' access to funds, weapons and new membership are plugged, said Adamu.

Early this month, the United States revealed "profound" changes to its counter-terrosim strategy, shifting towards partnerships with African countries rather than maintaining a large US military presence in the region, he added.

The intelligence source, who asked not to be named, warned that "given the high profile status of al-Manuki there is the high possibility of escalation of attacks from ISWAP against Nigerian military bases to avenge his death".

Nigeria has in recent months claimed success in killing jihadists after the US airstrikes carried out on Christmas Day in collaboration with Nigerian forces in northwestern Sokoto State targeting fighters from the IS in the Sahel group, usually active in neighbouring Niger.

Washington has since deployed hundreds of troops to Nigeria to support and train its forces.

sn-abu/rmb

THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY