Major Counter-Terrorism Victory: U.S. Seizes Historic Intelligence Cache in Nigeria

A senior United States counterterrorism official has revealed details of a significant operation in North-east Nigeria against Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), leading to the recovery of the largest cache of terrorist electronic materials since the 11 September 2001 attacks. Sebastian Gorka, the US Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council, made this disclosure during an interview with Marissa Streit, CEO of PragerU, an American nonprofit media organization. Gorka highlighted this as a major success in the Trump administration's counterterrorism campaign.

According to Mr. Gorka, the operation was extraordinary in its scope, resulting in the neutralization of 199 jihadists. He stated, "I watched our operators kill 199 jihadis in one operation," describing it as the "biggest neutralisation of enemy killed in action since September the 11th." He further emphasized the unprecedented volume of intelligence materials captured, noting, "From that raid, we needed an extra plane to bring home all the electronic material that we captured in those camps." He asserted that "The haul was three times bigger than any enemy electronics haul since 9/11," and that US intelligence experts were actively examining these materials for valuable information.

While Mr. Gorka did not explicitly name the operation, his description strongly aligns with a joint Nigeria-United States raid announced in May. This operation successfully eliminated Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, also known as Abubakar Mainok, a top commander of ISWAP. Both US President Donald Trump and his Nigerian counterpart, Bola Tinubu, confirmed the operation, stating that Mr. Mainok and several lieutenants were killed during a strike on his compound in the Lake Chad Basin, specifically near Metele in Borno State.

However, a discrepancy exists in the reported casualty figures. While Mr. Gorka claimed 199 jihadists were killed, Nigeria's Defence Headquarters (DHQ) stated that 175 terrorists were neutralized in the offensive, including Mr. Mainok and his key lieutenants. The Nigerian authorities described the operation as the culmination of extensive intelligence gathering and precision planning. Neither the US nor Nigerian authorities have publicly addressed this difference in casualty numbers since Mr. Gorka's remarks.

Mr. Gorka's comments also provided the first public indication from a senior US official regarding the immense scale of intelligence recovered. The seized electronic devices are expected to offer significant insights into the operations, communications, and financing of jihadist networks active in the Lake Chad region. The Nigerian government has remained silent on Mr. Gorka's statement and has not explained why it allowed the US to take custody of the seized materials.

In a related development, the United States government recently sanctioned Mukhtar Muhammad, a Lagos-based Bureau De Change (BDC) operator, and three firms allegedly controlled by him, for serving as financial conduits for ISWAP. The Nigerian government subsequently sanctioned the same entities and others for similar reasons. It remains unclear whether these sanctions are directly linked to the intelligence gathered during the May operation that led to the death of ISWAP commander Mr. Mainok, or if they stem from a separate US counterterrorism investigation. As of the time of this report, neither the White House nor the Nigerian government had released further public details concerning the operation.