The Nigerian Army has provided details of how Abubakar Mainok, a top Islamic State commander, was killed in a rare joint military operation with United States forces.

The army said the operation was conducted by troops of Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), a joint task force in the North-east, and the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM).

According to a statement by Sani Uba, the spokesperson for the task force, Mr Mainok was killed during a “meticulously planned and highly complex precision air-land operation” at Metele, a Borno village bordering Nigeria and Niger in the Lake Chad area.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump announced the killing of Mr Mainok, describing him as the “second-in-command” of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), also known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

President Bola Tinubu confirmed the operation about two hours after Mr Trump’s announcement, saying the terror leader was killed in his compound in Lake Chad alongside his lieutenants.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Mainok was specially designated as a “global terrorist” in 2023.

The army said he played a major role within ISIS’s General Directorate of Provinces, where he allegedly coordinated international funding and operational directives to terrorist cells operating across the Sahel and the Lake Chad Islands in northern Borno.

His death, according to Mr Uba, “represents the single most consequential counter-terrorism outcome in the North East Theatre since the inception of Operation Hadin Kai.”

‘Operational details’

Mr Uba said the operation began at about 12:01 a.m. and ended around 4:00 a.m. on Saturday following what he described as a prolonged intelligence operation involving “legal intercept operations and sustained reconnaissance.”

It added that intelligence confirmed Mr Mainok and members of his “international terrorist cell” had established “a concealed and fortified enclave at Metele in Borno State within Sector 3 OPHK.”

Mr Uba said subsequent to the confirmed intelligence, “the US partners in conjunction with OPHK conducted precision air-ground operations on the confirmed location while Special Forces were deployed to provide security and deny escape routes as well as to extract any of the Teams or air platforms in distress.”

According to him, multiple air platforms were deployed in “a synchronised air-land configuration that left the terrorists with no avenue of escape.”

The operation, he said, was executed after approval from the military high command, reflecting “the highest levels of institutional coordination and strategic decision-making.”

Mr Uba said no personnel or equipment were lost during the mission.

READ ALSO: Tinubu confirms joint operation with US killed ISIS commander in Nigeria

“The operation was executed with zero casualties or loss of assets, a testament to the exceptional planning, superior tactical execution and the deepening synergy between Nigerian and US military forces in the global fight against terrorism,” he said.

The army spokesperson added that battle damage assessment was ongoing while troops had commenced “aggressive follow-on exploitation operations” targeting possible splinter groups and preventing regrouping attempts.

Mr Uba said the operation sends “an unequivocal message that terrorists will find neither sanctuary nor safety within the North East Theatre.”

Nigerian and US forces kill ISIS leader in joint operation

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