Some 175 militants belonging to the Islamic State (IS) group were killed in joint Nigerian-US strikes in Nigeria's northeast in recent days, both militaries said Tuesday. Washington sent troops to the West African nation in February as armed groups stepped up their attacks on communities across the country.
Nigeria and the United States said Tuesday that joint air strikes over the past few days killed 175 Islamic State (IS) group fighters in the country's northeast, including the jihadist group's global second-in-command.
The remote region has been gripped by an Islamist extremist insurgency since 2009, first by Boko Haram, then its offshoot and rival, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
According to the United Nations, more than 40,000 people have been killed and two million others displaced since the fighting first broke out.
The US sent troops to Nigeria in February to serve in what was deemed a largely advisory and training role. The recent joint operation signals that US involvement has been far more active.
US and Nigerian forces killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, an IS group leader described as the "most active terrorist" in the world, at a remote village in the northeast last weekend.
The Nigerian military said on Tuesday that 175 IS militants had so far been "eliminated from the battlefield".
"The joint strikes have resulted in the destruction of ISIS checkpoints, weapons caches, logistical hubs, military equipment and financial networks used to sustain terrorist operations," it added.
As director of global operations for the IS group, the slain al-Minuki provided strategic guidance on media and financial operations and "the development and manufacturing of weapons, explosives and drones", according to the Nigerian military and the US Africa Command (AFRICOM)
An AFRICOM spokesman confirmed the toll of 175 among the jihadists.
AFRICOM commander General Dagvin Anderson told a Congressional hearing in Washington that Nigeria had been "instrumental throughout the last several months, developing the target, helping us with the intelligence, and providing support".
After the announcement of al-Minuki's death, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu thanked his US counterpart Donald Trump for his "leadership and unwavering support".
He said he looked forward to "more decisive strikes against all terrorist enclaves across the nation".
Senior figures
According to Tuesday's military statement, the operations in the past few days have killed other key IS group figures.
They include Abd-al Wahhab, said to be a "senior leader" of ISWAP, "responsible for coordinating attacks and distributing propaganda".
Abu Musa al-Mangawi was said to be a high-ranking ISWAP member while Abu al-Muthanna al-Muhajir was a "senior media production team manager and close confidant to al-Minuki".
"Several key ISIS leaders" were killed, according to Anderson.
Boko Haram and ISWAP have recently stepped up reported attacks on villages, police stations and workers such as loggers and fishermen, as well as military bases, causing the deaths of several civilians and senior army officers.
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The upsurge in attacks prompted Tinubu to declare a nationwide state of emergency in 2025 and the US president to threaten Nigeria with military intervention.
Trump has claimed that Christians in Nigeria were being "persecuted" and victims of a "genocide" carried out by "terrorists".
The government in Abuja and most experts reject the claim, and point out that the violence generally affects Christians and Muslims without distinction.
The US military, in coordination with the Nigerian authorities, carried out air strikes on December 25 last year in the northwestern state of Sokoto, targeting what Washington called jihadists.
Northern Nigeria has been grappling with violence from criminal gangs known locally as bandits, who frequently carry out attacks on villages and mass kidnappings for ransom.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)
