A senior US counterterrorism official has said that American forces found the biggest collection of terrorist electronic materials since the September 11 attacks. This happened during a recent operation against the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in North-east Nigeria.
The 2001 attack is seen as the largest terror attack on the US and has greatly influenced US counter-terrorism strategies.
Sebastian Gorka, who is the Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council, shared this news in a video interview with Marissa Streit, CEO of PragerU. He highlighted what he called significant achievements during the Trump administration’s counterterrorism efforts.
Mr Gorka said that the operation killed 199 jihadists and led to the capture of a record amount of intelligence materials. “I watched our operators kill 199 jihadis in one operation,” he said. “That is the biggest neutralisation of enemy killed in action since September the 11th, 199 jihadists who will not harm Americans again.”
He mentioned that the intelligence from the operation was even more important. “From that raid, we needed an extra plane to bring home all the electronic material that we captured in those camps,” Mr Gorka stated. “The haul was three times bigger than any enemy electronics haul since 9/11.”
He added that US intelligence experts are already looking into the materials for useful information.
Mr Gorka did not name the operation, but his description matches the joint raid by Nigeria and the US announced in May. This operation resulted in the death of Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, also known as Abubakar Mainok, a top ISWAP commander.
US President Donald Trump confirmed the joint operation that led to this killing. Nigeria's President, Bola Tinubu, also confirmed that Mr Mainok and several of his men were killed during an attack on his compound in the Lake Chad Basin, specifically near Metele in Borno State.
After the operation, Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters (DHQ) said that 175 terrorists were killed in the offensive, adding that Mr Mainok and his top men were among those neutralised.
The operation, according to Nigerian officials, was the result of months of gathering intelligence and careful planning. Mr Gorka’s figure of 199 jihadists killed is higher than the number reported by the DHQ. Neither the US nor Nigerian officials have explained this difference since Mr Gorka made his comments.
His statements are the first public indication from a senior US official about the amount of intelligence recovered during the raid. This suggests that the electronic devices seized could provide important insights into the activities, communications and funding of jihadist groups in the Lake Chad area. The Nigerian government has not commented on Mr Gorka's statements or why they allowed the US to take the seized materials.
Additionally, last week, the US government sanctioned Mukhtar Muhammad, a Bureau De Change (BDC) operator based in Lagos, along with three companies he allegedly controls. They are accused of being financial channels for ISWAP. The Nigerian government later sanctioned the same companies and others on similar grounds.
It is not clear if these sanctions are connected to the intelligence from the May operation that killed ISWAP commander Mr Mainok, or if they are from a different US counterterrorism investigation.
As of now, neither the White House nor the Nigerian government has released more details about the operation.
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