ISIS Leader Killed
The second in command of the terrorist group ISIS is dead after a joint operation conducted by the United States and Nigeria on Friday. Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described by U.S. President Donald Trump as “the most active terrorist in the world,” was killed in the strike along with other ISIS leaders. The joint action comes after the U.S. designated Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” in October 2025, a designation which obligated the U.S. to determine appropriate mitigation and relief efforts. A U.S. strike in December also killed members of ISIS leadership.
Analysis and eternal perspective: Nigerian Christians are living in some of the most intense persecution in the world. Mass killings of entire Christian villages have been horrifically common, much of it at the hands of ISIS and related terrorist groups. The U.S. has been leading the effort to hold accountable those responsible, and the participation of Nigerian forces in this week’s operation is a significant sign of the Nigerian government’s increased commitment to eradicating the religious-based violence.
God’s Word instructs you and me to pray for those who are persecuted. In doing so, we are told to personally associate with those who are suffering: “Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering” (Heb 13:3).
Candidly, I find this command challenging. There is a significant difference between what is often labeled “persecution” in the U.S.—I think it’s more appropriate to call it “discrimination”—and the persecution evident in this story. Can you imagine your entire town or church being slaughtered in a mass grave behind the church in broad daylight? It is beyond my worst nightmares, and yet it is reality for many of our brothers and sisters in Nigeria.
How can you remember your Nigerian brothers and sisters “as if you were together with them” this week? Let’s endeavor as The Equipped family to enter in to a new level of intercessory prayer for the persecuted Church around the world!