US Signals of More Nigerian Strikes as Nigeria's Capital Talks of 'Collaborative Ongoing Operations'.

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

“The commander-in-chief was explicit 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. More to come … Thankful for Abuja's backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!”

The Nigerian Foreign Minister Frames Strikes as Joint Operation

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

Nigeria is officially a non-religious state with a population almost evenly split between Muslims and Christians. Violence against Christians has drawn attention from religious groups in the United States, who frame it as sectarian targeting. Nigerian authorities have pointed out that armed groups target both Christians and Muslims.

Information and Coordination Preceding the Airstrikes

Nigeria supplied the information for the airstrikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a local broadcaster. He detailed that he had consulted with his American opposite number, before called the Nigerian president for approval, 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 work with the Americans, to work with other countries, to fight terrorism, to end the death of blameless Nigerians … It’s a joint effort.”

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

Background of Violence in North-West Nigeria

Forests in Sokoto state, which is adjacent to Niger, have been used as bases by criminal groups and members of ISSP. Some observers say this IS branch started when herders joined together to fight bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.

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

• Priests and pastors have increasingly been taken hostage, though some specialists 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 Violence and Statistics

There have been numerous events 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 “safeguarding Nigerians and civilians,” not a single faith. “It is a collaborative mission,” he said. “It is not targeting any religion.”

Wider U.S. Military Policy

This intervention occurs amid a wider pattern of U.S. military activity overseas during this administration. Despite campaigning as a “candidate of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the first year of this term has seen strikes in several countries and a significant military buildup in another region.

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