Nigeria and the United States have carried out fresh strikes against the Islamic State (IS) group in northeast Nigeria, the US military said Monday, with the Nigerian army saying at least 20 jihadists were killed.
The strikes were conducted on Sunday, US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said in a statement.
They came two days after the United States and Nigeria announced that a joint operation in the west African country killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, an IS group leader described as the group’s second-in-command worldwide who has been under US sanctions since 2023.
Read moreUS and Nigerian forces ‘eliminate’ IS group senior leader in joint mission
The raid was the “continuation of coordinated operations against ISIS militants”, across Nigeria’s restive northeast region, Nigeria’s military said, using another name for the jihadist group.
“Following observed convergence and migration of terrorist elements, multiple air strikes were conducted resulting in the elimination of more than 20 ISIS/ISWAP fighters,” the Nigerian Defence Headquarters said in a statement.
AFRICOM said “Intelligence confirmed the targets were ISIS militants”, adding that no US or Nigerian forces were “harmed” during the operation.
US President Donald Trump and Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu confirmed the development, describing it as a major setback for the IS group.
Nigeria has long battled jihadist insurgents, including Boko Haram and regional offshoots of the IS organisation, primarily the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
Northern Nigeria faces the double threat of attacks from jihadist groups allied to IS group and from criminal gangs that stalk villages and carry out mass kidnappings.
Since late 2025, the country has been under pressure from the United States, which has accused it of not doing enough to combat the Islamist militant threat.
West Africa has become the world’s most active zone of Islamist militancy, according to a recent report by global conflict monitor ACLED, which showed that Islamic State activity in Africa hit a record high in the first quarter of 2026.
As director of global operations for the IS group, the slain al-Minuki provided strategic guidance on media and financial operations and “the development and manufacturing of weapons, explosives and drones”, according to the Nigerian military and AFRICOM.
Al-Minuki was “one of the world’s most active terrorists”, according to Nigeria.
An intelligence source, who asked not to be named, told AFP that “given the high-profile status of al-Manuki there is the high possibility of escalation of attacks from ISWAP against Nigerian military bases to avenge his death”.
Nigeria has in recent months claimed success in killing jihadists after US airstrikes carried out on Christmas Day in collaboration with Nigerian forces in northwestern Sokoto State that targeted fighters from the IS in the Sahel group, usually active in neighbouring Niger.
Washington has since deployed hundreds of troops to Nigeria to support and train its forces.
46 children, adults kidnapped
The attacks comes after 46 people, most of them children, were kidnapped during an attack on three schools in southwest Nigerian last week, the Christian Association of Nigeria said on Monday.
CAN president for Oyo state Elisha Olukayode Ogundiya said that “46 persons mostly children” aged from two to 16 were seized in the attacks in the southwestern state on Friday.
Nigeria is battling a scourge of criminal gangs known as bandits who kidnap for ransom and target rural areas. But most attacks, including school kidnappings, have mostly happened in the north and centre of the country, where the conflict is most prominent.
Gunmen simultaneously raided Baptist Nursery and Primary in Yawota, and two other schools in Esiele, in what police called a “coordinated attack”.
The attackers seized “some pupils, students and staff members” from the schools, “including the vice principal”, police said in a statement last week.
The attack forced Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board to order the temporary closure of surrounding schools Friday to “prevent any secondary incidents and to allow security agencies to thoroughly stabilise the area”.
It later said schools should reopen on Monday.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)
