Hegseth made the disclosure during a press conference at the White House on Wednesday, saying the directive was issued after Trump became aware of attacks against Christians in Nigeria.
According to him, the operation involved coordination between U.S. and Nigerian forces and led to the killing of Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described as ISIS’s second-in-command, during a joint operation in the Lake Chad Basin.
“Maybe a year ago, he heard the call of Nigerian Christians who were being targeted and killed by ISIS in Nigeria, and he said, ‘Pete, I want the War Department to focus on ensuring that we do everything we can to protect those Christians,’” Hegseth said.
He said intelligence gathered during the operation contributed to major counterterrorism successes in the region.
“And we got the assets there, and over the last month, and there hasn’t been much coverage of this, we killed ISIS number two in Nigeria, who’s most responsible for killing Christians and trying to target the U.S. homeland,” he stated.
Hegseth added that the intelligence operation also led to the killing of several ISIS fighters allegedly involved in attacks on Christians in Nigeria and threats against the United States.
“Working on the intel gathered, we have killed hundreds of ISIS members who were targeting and killing Christians in Nigeria,” he added.
The U.S. defence chief described the mission as part of the Trump administration’s broader counterterrorism efforts and commitment to protecting vulnerable communities.
“So there are a lot of things we do that the media pays attention to, and a lot of things that the President empowers the Department to do on behalf of the American people that he deserves great credit for,” Hegseth stated.
ISIS commander Abu-Bilal al-Minuki was reportedly killed earlier this month during a coordinated military operation involving Nigerian and U.S. forces in northeastern Nigeria.
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