By Capt. Jasper Jigawa

Details are emerging of a joint US-Nigerian air strike operation in Nigeria executed last night [Friday 15]. It appears the target was Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, a senior ISIS leader in the group’s global operations.

 

This strike has severed multiple connections within ISIS and continues the trend of precision US strikes that are supporting Nigeria’s counter-terrorism efforts as the country continues to battle against regional threats.

 

The target of this strike, Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, was a Nigeria-based senior leader within the ISIS terrorist group. A US military source placed him within the top five leaders within the entire organisation.

 

His remit included disseminating terrorist propaganda, waging economic warfare on the region, and the development and deployment of explosives.

 

His career as a terrorist leader included a leading role in the horrifying kidnapping of 100 schoolgirls from Dapachi, in Nigeria’s Yobe State, in 2018, among numerous other dreadful incidents.

 

His demise, along with a handful of his accomplices, will save countless lives and help prevent vulnerable and desperate young men, often susceptible to terrorist propaganda, from being duped into joining the deadly terrorist group.

 

The terrorist group’s operational, leadership and planning capacity will be heavily disrupted by al-Minuki’s removal from the senior echelons of global ISIS leadership, as he fulfilled a critical role at the head of multiple nodes and cells within the group’s leadership.

 

Last night’s airstrike is a visceral reminder of two things. Firstly, the military partnership between America and Nigeria, itself the product of decades of cooperation, is alive and kicking.

 

In President Trump’s own words, the operation was “meticulously planned and very complex”. These missions are impossible to facilitate without the direct and very close collaboration between a host military and security partners.

 

In particular, the process of locating the target, correctly identifying them, and then assessing the available capabilities to eliminate a target, all whilst reducing the risk of collateral and civilian damage, indicates an extremely close and successful intelligence sharing partnership between the US and Nigerian Militaries.

 

As insurgent groups continue their violent surge across Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, and other groups continue to attack North Nigeria, security partnerships bring much-needed stability and control to an otherwise chaotic situation.

 

The second key reminder is of the might of the US Military. The firepower it can bring to bear is extraordinary, but perhaps more notable in this instance is the precision with which it can be applied.

 

Such precise and deadly critical capabilities for nations in Africa which are battling flourishing insurgencies and terrorist activity, and are challenged by resource constraints. Last night’s strike hints at the strategic results security partnerships with traditional long-term partners can unlock for nations across Africa that lack advanced intelligence and strike capabilities.

 

The precision removal of a senior global terrorist leader is a reminder of what can be achieved when a security partnership between an African nation and an international partner works effectively.

 

At a human level, for those in rural villages in North Nigeria, living in fear of marauding bandits or the slow creep of extremism, the strikes are a reminder that they are not alone, and that there are those willing to stand up to terrorists.