ISWAP confirms death of Abu-Bilal al-Mainuki after US strike
The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has confirmed the death of senior member Abu-Bilal al-Mainuki following a recent operation by U.S. Special Forces near the Lake Chad region in northeast Nigeria.
The confirmation was made in a statement disseminated through the group’s media channels, which referred to the casualties from the raid as martyrs. This announcement comes approximately two weeks after a coordinated mission by U.S. special operations forces targeted an ISWAP media and command facility in the heavily forested Lake Chad basin.
Reports indicate that the operation involved a precision airborne assault, supported by surveillance drones, intelligence resources, and attack aircraft. The strike resulted in the deaths of at least three foreign ISIS operatives, as well as several women believed to be affiliated with the insurgent group.
In its statement, ISWAP acknowledged the loss of al-Mainuki while attempting to cast the operation’s casualties in a heroic light. “And ponder, O servants of Allah, what prompted crusader America to cross all these distances all the way to these forests,” the statement read.
ISWAP claimed that U.S. forces spent six months tracking al-Mainuki using various types of drones before executing what they described as a extensive multi-point airborne landing, characterized by heavy gunfire. The group further alleged that American forces aimed to capture a single Muslim individual in the African jungles.
