THE Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has announced the continuation of coordinated military operations with the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) against Islamic State (ISIS) fighters in Nigeria’s North-East, with fresh airstrikes reportedly killing more than 20 militants in the Metele area of Borno State.
In a statement on Monday, May 16, the Director of Defence Information, Samaila Uba, said the strikes were carried out following intelligence on the “convergence and migration” of terrorist fighters within the region.
According to the military, the latest operation formed part of sustained offensives aimed at dismantling terrorist networks and denying insurgents safe havens across the country.
“The ongoing operations follow the neutralisation of ISIS commander Abu-Bilal al-Minuki and are part of sustained efforts to disrupt terrorist networks, remove them from the battlefield and deny the terrorists any safe haven within Nigeria,” the statement read.
The DHQ stressed that the Armed Forces of Nigeria would continue aggressive operations to defend the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“There will be no safe haven for all terrorists anywhere in Nigeria,” the statement added.
The announcement came as AFRICOM separately confirmed that US forces coordinated additional “kinetic strikes” with the Nigerian government on May 17 against ISIS targets in North-Eastern Nigeria.
A statement by AFRICOM Public Affairs on Monday, noted that the US military command said intelligence confirmed that the targets were ISIS militants, while post-strike assessments were still ongoing.
“No U.S. or Nigerian forces were harmed,” AFRICOM stated.
The command said the operation was aimed at weakening the terror group’s ability to plan attacks against both Nigeria and allied nations.
“The removal of these terrorists diminishes the group’s capacity to plan attacks that threaten the safety and security of the U.S. and our partners,” the statement stressed.
AFRICOM also reiterated its commitment to supporting partner nations with “specialized U.S. capabilities” to tackle shared security threats.
The latest strikes follow an earlier joint operation on May 16, during which Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described as ISIS second-in-commander globally, was reportedly killed in another coordinated strike in the North-East.
“Tonight, at my direction, brave American forces and the Armed Forces of Nigeria flawlessly executed a meticulously planned and very complex mission to eliminate the most active terrorist in the world from the battlefield,” Donald Trump wrote on his social media handle.
According to him, the operation was carried out in Africa with support from intelligence sources tracking the activities of the terror leader.
“Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in command of ISIS globally, thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing,” he added.
The ICIR reports that both developments came days after Nigeria deepened its counterterrorism engagement with the US following a high-level meeting in Washington between the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and top US officials led by Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
According to a statement shared by Secure Nigeria, the meeting reinforced what it described as a “decisive U.S.-Nigeria partnership to confront terrorism in West Africa” amid growing extremist threats across the region.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M