American Signals of More Nigeria Military Actions as Abuja Talks of 'Joint Ongoing Operations'.

The U.S. defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has signaled further airstrikes against ISIS targets in northwest Nigeria. This follows hours after U.S. military forces launched strikes against insurgent bases. The former president Donald Trump has described these actions as part of a campaign to halt the slaughter of Christians.

“The president was explicit last month: the killing of defenseless Christians in Nigeria has to stop,” Hegseth posted on a social platform. “The Department of Defense is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. There is more ahead … Grateful for Abuja's support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

Nigeria's Top Diplomat Describes Strikes as Collaborative Effort

Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of collaborative ongoing operations.” This statement came after the former U.S. leader had earlier accused Nigeria’s government of not doing enough to stop Christians from being killed.

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

Intelligence and Collaboration Preceding the Missions

Nigerian authorities supplied the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a television network. He detailed that he had spoken with his U.S. counterpart, then called the Nigerian president for authorization, and subsequently spoke with the American official again.

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

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

Context of Conflict in North-West Nigeria

Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which is adjacent to Niger, have been used as bases by criminal groups and members of ISSP. Some observers say this affiliate started when herders banded together to combat bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is mostly 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.

• Clergy and religious leaders have increasingly been kidnapped for ransom, though some specialists say this may be driven more by criminal incentives than religious discrimination.
• 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 separate insurgency mostly separate to the violence in the north-west.

Continuing Violence and Statistics

There have been numerous 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 most affected regions.

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

Wider U.S. Military Policy

This intervention comes amid a wider pattern of U.S. military engagement overseas during this administration. Despite running as a “candidate of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the initial period of this term has seen military actions in multiple countries and a major military buildup in another region.

No official from the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any casualties in the latest airstrikes. When asked if more would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an old conflict. For us it is something that is ongoing.”