US Signals of Additional Nigeria Military Actions as Abuja Speaks of 'Collaborative Continuing Operations'.

The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has indicated new military actions against IS strongholds in northwest Nigeria. This comes a short time after U.S. military forces launched strikes against militant camps. The ex-president Donald Trump has characterized these efforts as part of a mission to stop the killing of Christians.

“The president was clear previously: the murder of innocent Christians in Nigeria needs to cease,” Hegseth wrote on a social media platform. “The Department of Defense is constantly prepared, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. Additional actions will follow … Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

Nigeria's Top Diplomat Describes Strikes as Joint Effort

Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, stated on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of collaborative continuing operations.” This comment came after Trump had earlier accused Nigeria’s government of failing to prevent Christians from being killed.

Nigeria is officially a non-religious state with a population nearly divided between Muslims and Christians. Violence against Christians has drawn attention from conservative groups in the United States, who frame it as religious persecution. Nigerian authorities have pointed out that armed groups attack both Christians and Muslims.

Intelligence and Coordination Preceding the Missions

Nigerian authorities supplied the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a television network. He explained that he had consulted with his American opposite number, then contacted the Nigerian president for approval, and then spoke with the American official again.

“We have been working closely with the Americans,” Tuggar said. “This is what we’ve long desired, to partner with the Americans, to work with other countries, to combat terrorism, to stop the killing of blameless Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.”

The U.S. military’s Africom said the operations in Sokoto state had been executed in coordination with Nigerian authorities.

Background of Conflict in North-West Nigeria

Forests in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as hideouts by gangs of armed bandits and members of Islamic State – Sahel Province. Some analysts say this IS branch started when pastoralists joined together to fight bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is predominantly Muslim.

Conflicts between Muslim herders and predominantly Christian farming communities have been exacerbated by communal and sectarian factors, but their roots lie in competition for land and water.

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

Continuing Unrest and Statistics

There have been thousands of incidents of violence in Nigeria this year, with about 50% of them affecting civilians, according to conflict monitoring data. States like Katsina and Sokoto have been among the most affected regions.

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

Wider U.S. Military Posture

This intervention comes amid a broader pattern of American engagement overseas during this administration. Despite running 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 significant deployment of forces in another region.

No official from the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any fatalities in the recent airstrikes. When questioned if more would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an old conflict. For us it is something that is continuing.”