American Warns of More Nigeria Airstrikes as Nigeria's Capital Speaks of 'Joint Ongoing Operations'.

The U.S. defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has indicated further military actions against Islamic State targets in north-western Nigeria. This comes hours after U.S. military forces launched strikes against insurgent bases. The former president Donald Trump has characterized these efforts as part of a mission to stop the killing of Christians.

“The commander-in-chief was explicit last month: the murder of innocent Christians in Nigeria needs to cease,” the defense secretary wrote on a social media platform. “The Department of Defense is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. More to come … Grateful for Nigerian government backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!”

The Nigerian Foreign Minister Frames Actions as Joint Effort

Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, stated on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of collaborative ongoing operations.” This comment came after the former U.S. leader had previously accused Nigeria’s government of not doing enough 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 sectarian targeting. The government in Abuja have noted that militants target both Christians and Muslims.

Information and Collaboration Preceding the Airstrikes

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

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

The U.S. military’s Africom confirmed the operations in Sokoto state had been executed 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 IS branch started when pastoralists banded together to fight bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is predominantly Muslim.

Clashes between pastoralists and predominantly Christian farming communities have been exacerbated by communal and sectarian factors, but their core causes lie in disputes for land and water.

• Clergy and religious leaders have been increasingly 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 injured dozens more, in a distinct conflict largely separate to the violence in the north-west.

Ongoing Unrest and Data

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 stressed 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.”

Broader U.S. Military Posture

This intervention occurs 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 initial period of this presidency has seen military actions in multiple countries and a significant deployment of forces in another region.

Neither the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any casualties in the recent airstrikes. When asked if more would follow, Tuggar replied: “You can call it a new phase of an old conflict. For us it is something that is ongoing.”