The United States Africa Command confirmed on Monday that American and Nigerian forces conducted fresh airstrikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants in Nigeria’s North-East on May 17, as part of a sustained joint counterterrorism campaign.
The United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) announced the operation in a statement posted to its official X account on May 18, disclosing that the strikes were carried out in coordination with the Government of Nigeria. The command said full assessments of the operation remained ongoing.
“Intelligence confirmed the targets were ISIS militants,” AFRICOM stated, adding that no American or Nigerian forces were harmed during the strikes.
The operation is part of a concentrated series of actions against ISIS in northeastern Nigeria. Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters separately announced on Monday that coordinated offensives in the Matele axis of the North-East had neutralised 20 additional ISIS fighters during the latest phase of operations.
The strikes also follow a joint mission reportedly conducted on May 15 in which senior ISIS commander Abu Bilal al-Minuki was said to have been killed. Al-Minuki had reportedly appeared on international lists of the world’s most wanted terrorists.
AFRICOM said the operations were aimed at degrading ISIS’s capacity to plan and execute attacks. The command framed the campaign in terms of regional and global security, stating that eliminating high-value targets reduces the group’s ability to threaten the safety of the United States and its partner nations.
The command reaffirmed its commitment to supporting African partner countries through specialised military assistance and the dismantling of extremist networks across the continent.
