The United States and Nigeria kill 20 militants in airstrikes

The joint airstrikes came shortly after the United States and Nigeria announced days earlier that they had killed a prominent leader of ISIS.

The United States and Nigeria carried out new airstrikes on Sunday in the northeastern region of Borno, according to the U.S. military.

At least 20 militants were killed in the strikes, according to the Nigerian military.

The airstrikes followed a joint operation by both forces that resulted in the death of Abu Bakr al-Mainuki, who was the deputy leader of the "province" of West Africa for the ISIS group.

The Nigerian military described Mainuki as “the most active terrorist in the world.”

His killing was the first successful target by Nigerian security forces against a senior extremist leader after more than a decade of fighting armed groups in the north, including Boko Haram.

The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) stated in a release that “no casualties were sustained by U.S. or Nigerian forces” during this week’s attacks, adding that intelligence confirmed that the targets were ISIS militants.

“These operations against terrorism reduce the group’s ability to plan attacks that threaten security,” AFRICOM added.

This attack was part of “the continuation of coordinated operations against ISIS militants,” which took place in the northeastern region of Nigeria, according to the Nigerian military.