Nigeria: Will the U.S.-Nigeria Targeting of ISWAP’s Deputy Weaken Terrorism?

International and local experience shows that targeted leader killings tend to have more symbolic than practical impact.

The joint Nigerian-United States (US) operation on 16 May that reportedly killed Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) second-in-command Abu-Bilal al-Minuki will boost efforts to dismantle one of Africa’s most deadly terror groups. It is also a victory in the two countries’ controversial military cooperation against terrorism in northern Nigeria.

Al-Minuki and about 40 of…