IS has radically shifted in recent years, with around 90 percent of its attacks now taking place in sub-Saharan Africa. Its Nigeria-based branch is by far the most active. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said the two countries had carried out a "daring joint operation that dealt a heavy blow" to IS. Al‑Minuki was declared a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by Washington in 2023. He was killed along with "several of his lieutenants" during a strike on his compound in the Lake Chad Basin, a huge region of waterways and swampland shared by Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon. A military spokesman said intelligence had established Minuki had established a fortified base in the area - in Metele, Borno state. The Lake Chad basin has long been a stronghold for Boko Haram and its rival faction, Islamic State West Africa Province. (BBC)