Nigerian forces, working with US military support, killed 175 Islamic State militants and five senior leaders in joint air and ground operations across northeastern Nigeria, the Defence Headquarters confirmed Tuesday. The strikes eliminated Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described as the group's global No. 2, alongside Abd al-Wahhab, Abu Musa al-Mangawi and Abu al-Muthanna al-Muhajir.
The operation represents the most significant strike against Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) leadership in years, targeting the group's financial coordination, attack planning, and command nodes. AFRICOM confirmed the coordinated action resulted in no US or Nigerian casualties.
Latest operation details
The multi-day campaign focused on ISWAP positions in Nigeria's northeastern region, where the group has conducted a prolonged insurgency since splintering from Boko Haram. Nigeria's Defence Headquarters identified Abd al-Wahhab as responsible for financial coordination and attack planning within ISWAP's structure, while Abu-Bilal al-Minuki held a position described as second in the global Islamic State hierarchy.
The reported elimination of 175 militants alongside multiple high-value targets indicates extensive intelligence preparation and coordination between Nigerian ground forces and US air assets. This scale of operation builds directly on the US deployment of MQ-9 drones and 200 troops confirmed in February, marking a transition from advisory support to active combat partnership.
The operation's timing coincides with recent ISWAP attacks on military bases that killed multiple Nigerian soldiers in April, suggesting Nigerian forces acted on developed intelligence about leadership locations in response to sustained militant pressure.
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Impact on ISWAP operations
The simultaneous elimination of financial, operational planning, and command leadership creates immediate disruption to ISWAP's ability to coordinate attacks and sustain operations. Abd al-Wahhab's role in financial coordination suggests the strikes targeted not just combat commanders but the administrative structure enabling ISWAP to fund operations, pay fighters, and maintain territorial control in northeastern Nigeria.
The operation occurs as Nigerian forces face pressure across multiple fronts, from ISWAP in the northeast to criminal networks in the northwest. Whether this degradation of ISWAP leadership translates into sustained operational setbacks depends on the group's succession planning and ability to reconstitute command structures—patterns that previous strikes against Boko Haram and ISWAP have shown can recover within months without follow-on pressure.
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