American Signals of Further Nigeria Strikes as Abuja Speaks of 'Collaborative Continuing Operations'.

The U.S. defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has indicated additional airstrikes against IS positions in northwest Nigeria. This follows a short time after U.S. military forces conducted operations against militant camps. The ex-president Donald Trump has framed these efforts as part of a campaign to stop the slaughter of Christians.

“The president was clear last month: the murder of defenseless Christians in Nigeria needs to cease,” the defense secretary stated on a social media platform. “The Pentagon is always ready, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. More to come … Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

Nigeria's Top Diplomat Describes Strikes as Collaborative Effort

Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of joint ongoing operations.” This statement came after the former U.S. leader had previously alleged Nigeria’s government of failing to prevent Christians from being killed.

Nigeria is constitutionally a secular state with a population almost evenly split between Muslims and Christians. Attacks against Christians has garnered focus from religious groups in the United States, who describe it as sectarian targeting. Nigerian authorities have noted that armed groups attack both Christians and Muslims.

Information and Coordination Behind the Missions

Nigerian authorities supplied the information for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a local broadcaster. He detailed that he had spoken with his American opposite number, then contacted the Nigerian president for authorization, and then spoke with the American official again.

“We have been collaborating extensively with the Americans,” Tuggar stated. “This is what we’ve long desired, to partner with the Americans, to work with other countries, to combat terrorism, to end the killing of innocent Nigerians … It’s a joint effort.”

The U.S. military’s Africa Command confirmed the operations in Sokoto state had been carried out in coordination with local officials.

Context of Violence in Northwestern Nigeria

Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which is adjacent to Niger, have been used as hideouts by gangs of armed bandits and members of Islamic State – Sahel Province. Some analysts say this IS branch originated when pastoralists banded together to combat bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is predominantly Muslim.

Clashes between pastoralists and mostly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by communal and sectarian factors, but their core causes lie in disputes for resources.

• Priests and pastors have increasingly been taken hostage, though some experts say this may be driven more by financial motives than sectarian hatred.
• A Christmas Eve attack at a mosque in north-east Nigeria took the lives of at least five people and wounded dozens more, in a distinct conflict largely separate to the violence in the north-west.

Continuing Unrest and Data

There have been thousands of incidents of violence in Nigeria this year, with about half of them affecting civilians, according to conflict monitoring data. States like Katsina and Sokoto have been among the hardest-hit regions.

Tuggar stressed that the operation was about “protecting Nigerians and innocent lives,” not a single faith. “It is a collaborative mission,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.”

Broader U.S. Military Policy

This action occurs amid a broader pattern of U.S. military activity overseas during this administration. Despite campaigning as a “champion of peace” who promised to withdraw the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the first year of this term has seen military actions in multiple countries and a major deployment of forces in another region.

Neither the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any fatalities in the recent airstrikes. When asked if additional actions would follow, Tuggar replied: “You can call it a new phase of an long-standing struggle. For us it is something that is ongoing.”