“Africa is the most important area of operations for Islamic State,” said Hans-Jakob Schindler, the former coordinator of the U.N. Security Council’s panel on Islamic State and al Qaeda. But Nigeria is a particular focus because it involves violence against Christians that resonates with Trump’s political base, Schindler said.

Attuned to Trump’s concerns, the Nigerians made a point Saturday of highlighting al-Mainuki’s role in overseeing attacks against ethnic and religious minorities. Trump made a point of thanking the Nigerian government for its role in the operation.

“The estimates of how many fighters terror groups, such as ISIS, have are always a complex endeavor,” senior director of the Counter Extremism Project, Hans-Jakob Schindler, tells the New York Sun. “One of the key challenges is what is classified as a ‘fighter’. Some governments only estimate the number of individuals that are armed and involved in actual fighting or attacks, while other governments also count all the supporters, including, for example, families.”

Extremist networks linked to ISIS have called for attacks against Hindus in India and across South and Southeast Asia, even as they praised recent violence in the United States and expanded online recruitment, according to a new report by the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), nonprofit and non-partisan international policy organization

Extremist networks linked to ISIS have called for attacks against Hindus in India and across South and Southeast Asia, even as they praised recent violence in the United States and expanded online recruitment, according to a new report by the Counter Extremism Project (CEP).

Counter Extremism Project (CEP) Senior Research Analyst Sofia Koller discusses the foreign terrorist fighter situation and camps in Syria and Iraq. [Starting at 06:29]

[Counter Extremism Project Senior Director] Hans-Jakob Schindler, a former UN Security Council co-ordinator for monitoring ISIS and Al Qaeda, said ISIS has sensed that "this is our opportunity to come back". He said the group's willingness to declare a "new phase" of operations hinted at a boost to manpower after the prison escapes and a push to recruit from Mr Al Shara's ranks.

Some among ISIS' digital support network have even celebrated the current U.S.-Israeli bombardment. The Counter Extremism Project monitor counted a dozen Telegram channels reveling in the news of the battle now consuming much of the Middle East, with one calling on followers to “rejoice in the good news."