US Issues Warning of Additional Nigerian Airstrikes as Nigeria's Capital Talks of 'Collaborative Continuing Operations'.

The U.S. defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has signaled additional strikes against IS strongholds in northwest Nigeria. This comes a short time after American forces took action against militant camps. The former president Donald Trump has described these efforts as part of a campaign to stop the killing of Christians.

“The commander-in-chief was explicit last month: the murder of innocent Christians in Nigeria has to stop,” the defense secretary wrote on a social platform. “The Pentagon is constantly prepared, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. Additional actions will follow … Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

The Nigerian Foreign Minister Describes Strikes as Collaborative Effort

Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, said on Friday that the American military actions were “part of joint continuing operations.” This comment followed after the former U.S. leader had previously alleged Nigeria’s government of not doing enough to stop Christians from being killed.

Nigeria is constitutionally a secular state with a population almost evenly split between Muslims and Christians. Attacks against Christians has drawn attention from conservative groups in the United States, who describe it as religious persecution. The government in Abuja have pointed out that armed groups attack both Christians and Muslims.

Information and Collaboration Preceding the Missions

Nigerian authorities supplied the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a local broadcaster. He explained that he had consulted with his American opposite number, 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 fight terrorism, to end the death of innocent Nigerians … It’s a joint effort.”

The U.S. military’s Africom said the strikes in Sokoto state had been executed in coordination with local officials.

Background of Violence in Northwestern Nigeria

Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as bases by criminal groups and members of ISSP. Some analysts say this IS branch originated when pastoralists joined together to combat bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.

Clashes between Muslim herders and predominantly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by ethnicity and religion, but their roots lie in disputes for resources.

• Priests and religious leaders have increasingly been taken hostage, though some experts say this may be driven more by criminal incentives than sectarian hatred.
• A December 24th suicide bombing at a mosque in north-east Nigeria took the lives of at least five people and wounded dozens more, in a separate conflict largely separate to the violence in the north-west.

Continuing Unrest and Data

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

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

Broader American Military Policy

This action occurs amid a broader pattern of U.S. military activity overseas during this administration. Despite running as a “champion of peace” who promised to withdraw the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the first year of this term has seen strikes in multiple countries and a significant deployment of forces in another region.

Neither the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any fatalities in the latest airstrikes. When questioned if additional actions would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a new phase of an old conflict. For us it is something that is continuing.”