More than 20 ISIS and Islamic State West Africa Province fighters have been killed in coordinated air strikes by Nigerian and United States forces in Metele, Borno State.
Major General Samaila Uba, director of defence information at the Defence Headquarters, announced the operation in a statement on Monday.
Uba said the strikes followed intelligence reports revealing the convergence and movement of terrorist fighters within the Metele area, a troubled community in northern Borno that has witnessed repeated attacks by insurgents over the years.
“The Defence Headquarters, in close coordination with United States Africa Command, wish to update the general public on the continuation of coordinated operations against ISIS militants across the North East Nigeria, with additional air strike operations successfully executed in the general area of Metele,” the statement reads.
The military said surveillance operations detected a fresh convergence of terrorist elements, prompting a series of precision airstrikes that successfully neutralised the fighters.
Uba said the operation is part of sustained efforts to disrupt terrorist networks following the elimination of ISIS commander Abu-Bilal al-Minuki on 15 May.
“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,” he said.
The military reaffirmed its commitment to defending Nigeria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“The Armed Forces of Nigeria will continue to aggressively defend the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of the nation,” Uba said. “Terrorists who threaten our citizens, communities and national stability will be located and defeated. There will be no safe haven for all terrorists anywhere in Nigeria.”
The United States Africa Command confirmed the development on its website, stating that the “kinetic strikes against ISIS in Northeastern Nigeria” were carried out on Sunday in coordination with the Nigerian government.
“Intelligence confirmed the targets were ISIS militants. Complete assessments are ongoing. No US or Nigerian forces were harmed,” US-Africom said.
“The removal of these terrorists diminishes the group’s capacity to plan attacks that threaten the safety and security of the US and our partners.”
On 16 May, President Bola Tinubu confirmed the killing of al-Minuki, described by the United States as ISIS global second-in-command, in a joint operation by Nigerian and American forces in the Lake Chad Basin.
The operation, which began at approximately 12:01 am and concluded around 4:00 am on Saturday, 15 May, was executed with no casualties or loss of assets, according to the Nigerian Army.
US President Donald Trump announced the elimination of al-Minuki in a post on Truth Social, describing him as “the most active terrorist in the world” and praising Nigerian cooperation in the operation.
“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,” Trump said.
Borno State has endured a 17-year insurgency waged by Boko Haram and its splinter group, Islamic State West Africa Province, which has killed thousands and displaced two million people.
The United States has deployed drones and 200 troops to Nigeria to provide training and intelligence support to the Nigerian military against Islamic State and al-Qaeda-linked insurgencies spreading across West Africa. US forces operate in a strictly non-combat role, Nigerian military officials said earlier this year.
Al-Minuki, a Nigerian national, was designated a “specially designated global terrorist” by the Biden administration in 2023, according to the US Federal Register.
