US and Nigerian forces jointly conducted a raid May 16 that killed one of the Islamic State's highest-ranking leaders in an operation in the country. Abu Bilal al-Minuki was said to be a commander of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). The strike took place in the Lake Chad area in Nigeria's northeast. Meanwhile, dozens of Nigerian fishermen are feared dead after Chadian forces on May 11 struck alleged Boko Haram strongholds along Lake Chad, which straddles the border of the two countries. Additionally, at least 100 civilians were killed in a Nigerian government air-strike on a crowded market in bandit-affected northwest ​Zamfara state on May 10, according to Amnesty International. Nigerian authorities have denied the report, but if confirmed, it would be the second air-strike to kill scores of people in a northern Nigerian market in a month.

Mass abductions of youth also continue. On May 17, gunmen kidnapped more than 50 children from three schools in the town of Mussa, Borno state. Apparent bandits used the youths—some only toddlers—as human shields while fleeing on motorbikes after a raid on the village, preventing security forces from opening fire. (NYT, TNH, BBC News, LWJ)