US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has confirmed America’s active counterterrorism partnership with Nigeria, including recent joint operations that eliminated ISIS second-in-command Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki
US in Active Counterterrorism Cooperation with Nigeria, Says Marco Rubio
The United States is actively engaged in counterterrorism cooperation with the Nigerian government and its security forces, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has revealed.
Speaking on Wednesday in Washington, DC, during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on the State Department’s FY27 budget request, Rubio disclosed the depth of ongoing collaboration amid rising global concern over violence against Christians in Nigeria.
“We are now actively in counterterrorism cooperation with the Nigerian government and Nigerian security forces, including a joint operation a couple of weeks ago that took out the number two leader of global ISIS operating from inside of the country, and that continues,” he said.
The high-profile joint operation on May 15 targeted a compound in the Lake Chad Basin, resulting in the elimination of Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki, ISIS’s second-in-command globally. US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth described Al-Minuki as the individual “most responsible for killing Christians” in Nigeria.
President Bola Tinubu, who confirmed the success of the mission, said several of Al-Minuki’s lieutenants were also killed. He expressed hope for continued collaboration, stating he looked forward to more such strikes against terrorist networks.
The operation has since been followed by additional joint actions. Days after the strike, the Nigerian Defence Headquarters announced that over 20 ISIS/ISWAP fighters were neutralised in multiple US-Nigerian air strikes in Metele, Borno State. On June 1, another collaborative operation between the Nigerian military and US Africa Command (Africom) killed 21 ISWAP fighters in Arege, Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno.
This growing security partnership reflects a strategic push by both nations to dismantle resilient terrorist networks operating in the Lake Chad region.
