STORY: U.S. President Donald Trump announced that a top ISIS commander was killed by U.S. and Nigerian forces.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said that Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, the second in command of ISIS globally, was 'eliminated.'
In a statement on X, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said early assessments confirmed that the ISIS commander was killed, along with several of his lieutenants, during a strike on his compound.
This video, released by U.S. Africa Command on Saturday, claims to show a strike on ISIS fighters in Nigeria, including al-Minuki.
Tinubu said Nigerian forces worked closely with the U.S. military in what he called a daring joint operation that dealt a heavy blow to the ranks of the Islamic State.
Trump, who has previously accused Nigeria of failing to protect Christians from Islamist militants, thanked the Nigerian government for its partnership in the operation.
Many Nigerians Reuters spoke to were in favor of it.
KELECHI TORTI: "To me, I want more of such strikes because we've been fighting this terrorism without fighting terrorism".
LUKA SAMUEL: "The terrorist issue has become something else. If US can help us to eliminate all these things, I see nothing bad there."
Nigeria's Borno State, where the strike was carried out, has endured an insurgency waged by Boko Haram and its splinter group Islamic State West Africa Province for 17 years.
Thousands of people have been killed, and some 2 million displaced.
Nigeria denies discriminating against any religion, and says its security forces target armed groups that attack both Christians and Muslims.
