American Warns of Further Nigerian Airstrikes as Nigeria's Capital Talks of 'Joint Continuing Missions'.

The U.S. defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has signaled additional airstrikes against IS targets in north-western Nigeria. This comes a short time after U.S. military forces took action against militant camps. The ex-president Donald Trump has described these efforts as part of a campaign to halt the killing of Christians.

“The president was clear last month: the murder of innocent Christians in Nigeria needs to cease,” Hegseth stated on a social media platform. “The Department of Defense is constantly prepared, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. There is more ahead … Thankful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

Nigeria's Foreign Minister Describes Strikes as Collaborative Effort

Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, said on Friday that the American military actions were “part of collaborative ongoing operations.” This statement came after Trump had previously alleged Nigeria’s government of failing to prevent 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 religious groups in the United States, who describe it as religious persecution. The government in Abuja have noted that militants attack both Christians and Muslims.

Intelligence and Coordination Behind the Missions

Nigeria provided the information for the airstrikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a television network. He detailed that he had spoken with his U.S. counterpart, before contacted the Nigerian president for authorization, and subsequently conferred 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 stop the death of blameless Nigerians … It’s a joint effort.”

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

Context of Conflict in Northwestern Nigeria

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

Conflicts between pastoralists and predominantly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by ethnicity and religion, but their roots lie in competition for land and water.

• 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 Christmas Eve attack at a mosque in north-east Nigeria killed at least five people and injured dozens more, in a distinct insurgency largely unrelated 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 affecting 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 collaborative mission,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.”

Broader American Foreign Policy

This action occurs amid a broader 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 initial period of this term has seen strikes in several countries and a major military buildup in another region.

No official from the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any casualties in the recent airstrikes. When questioned if more would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a new phase of an long-standing struggle. For us it is something that is ongoing.”