American Signals of Further Nigerian Airstrikes as Nigeria's Capital Talks of 'Joint Ongoing Operations'.

The American defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has warned of additional military actions against Islamic State positions in north-western Nigeria. This comes a short time after U.S. military forces took action against militant camps. The former president Donald Trump has described these actions as part of a campaign to halt the killing of Christians.

“The commander-in-chief was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria must end,” the defense secretary stated on a social platform. “The Department of Defense is constantly prepared, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. Additional actions will follow … Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

Nigeria's Top Diplomat Describes Actions as Collaborative Effort

Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of collaborative continuing operations.” This comment followed after Trump had previously accused Nigeria’s government of not doing enough to prevent Christians from being killed.

Nigeria is constitutionally a non-religious state with a population nearly divided between Muslims and Christians. Attacks against Christians has drawn attention from religious groups in the United States, who describe it as sectarian targeting. Nigerian authorities have pointed out that militants target both Christians and Muslims.

Information and Collaboration Behind the Missions

Nigeria provided the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a television network. He explained that he had consulted with his U.S. counterpart, then contacted the Nigerian president for authorization, and then conferred with the American official again.

“We have been collaborating extensively with the Americans,” Tuggar stated. “This is what we’ve always been hoping for, to partner with the Americans, to work with other countries, to fight terrorism, to end the death of blameless Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.”

The U.S. military’s Africa Command confirmed the operations in Sokoto state had been carried out in concert with Nigerian authorities.

Background of Conflict in Northwestern Nigeria

Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as hideouts by gangs of armed bandits and members of ISSP. Some analysts say this affiliate started when pastoralists banded together to fight bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.

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

• Priests and pastors have increasingly been kidnapped for ransom, 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 injured dozens more, in a distinct insurgency largely separate to the violence in the north-west.

Continuing Violence and Data

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

Tuggar stressed that the operation was about “protecting Nigerians and civilians,” not one religion. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not targeting any religion.”

Broader American Foreign Policy

This action occurs amid a wider pattern of U.S. military engagement overseas during this administration. Despite campaigning as a “candidate of peace” who promised to withdraw the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the initial period of this term has seen strikes in multiple countries and a significant military buildup in another region.

Neither the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any fatalities in the recent airstrikes. When questioned if additional actions would follow, Tuggar replied: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an old conflict. For us it is something that is continuing.”