American Warns of More Nigerian Strikes as Abuja Talks of 'Collaborative Continuing Missions'.

The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has indicated 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 efforts as part of a mission to stop the slaughter of Christians.

“The commander-in-chief was explicit previously: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria must end,” the defense secretary posted on a social platform. “The Department of Defense is constantly prepared, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. There is more ahead … Thankful for Abuja's support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

The Nigerian Foreign Minister Describes Actions as Collaborative Effort

Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, said on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of collaborative continuing operations.” This statement came 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 almost evenly split between Muslims and Christians. Attacks against Christians has garnered focus from conservative groups in the United States, who describe it as religious persecution. Nigerian authorities have noted that militants target both Christians and Muslims.

Information and Coordination Behind the Airstrikes

Nigerian authorities supplied the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a local broadcaster. He detailed that he had spoken with his U.S. counterpart, then contacted the Nigerian president for approval, and then spoke with the American official again.

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

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

Background of Conflict in Northwestern Nigeria

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

Clashes between Muslim herders and predominantly Christian farming communities have been exacerbated by ethnicity and religion, 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 financial motives 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 largely separate to the violence in the north-west.

Ongoing Violence 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 hardest-hit regions.

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

Wider U.S. Military Policy

This action occurs amid a wider pattern of U.S. military engagement overseas during this administration. Despite campaigning as a “champion of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the first year of this term has seen military actions 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 questioned if more would follow, Tuggar replied: “You can call it a new phase of an old conflict. For us it is something that is continuing.”