Let's start with the biggest international story of the weekend.
President Donald Trump confirmed that Abu-Bilal al-Minuki — described by U.S. officials as the second-in-command of ISIS globally — has been eliminated in a joint operation carried out by American and Nigerian military forces. Trump called him "the most active terrorist in the world."
Now, if that name isn't familiar to you, that's by design. Al-Minuki operated deep in the shadows, quietly running ISIS networks across West Africa — a region that doesn't always make Western headlines but has been quietly becoming one of the most dangerous hotspots for extremist activity in the world.
This is being called a major counter-terrorism win. And the fact that it happened through a US-Nigeria partnership tells you something important: the front line of the global fight against ISIS has moved south — into Africa.
Why this matters to you: West Africa is increasingly central to global security. This won't be the last story coming out of that region.
