American Issues Warning of More Nigeria Military Actions as Abuja Speaks of 'Collaborative Continuing Operations'.

The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has signaled additional airstrikes against IS positions in north-western Nigeria. This follows a short time after American forces took action against militant camps. The former president Donald Trump has described these actions as part of a mission to end the killing of Christians.

“The president was explicit last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria needs to cease,” Hegseth wrote on a social platform. “The Department of Defense is always ready, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. More to come … Thankful for Abuja's support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

The Nigerian Foreign Minister Frames Strikes as Collaborative Effort

Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, said on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of joint ongoing operations.” This comment came after Trump had earlier alleged Nigeria’s government of failing to stop Christians from being killed.

Nigeria is constitutionally a secular 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 describe it as sectarian targeting. Nigerian authorities have noted that militants attack both Christians and Muslims.

Intelligence and Collaboration Behind the Airstrikes

Nigerian authorities provided the information for the airstrikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a television network. He detailed that he had consulted with his U.S. counterpart, before called the Nigerian president for authorization, and then conferred with the American official again.

“We have been working closely with the Americans,” Tuggar said. “This is what we’ve always been hoping for, to partner 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 said the operations in Sokoto state had been executed in concert with local officials.

Context of Conflict in North-West Nigeria

Forests in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as bases by criminal groups and members of ISSP. Some observers say this IS branch started when herders banded together to combat bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is predominantly Muslim.

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

• Clergy and pastors have increasingly been kidnapped for ransom, 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 killed at least five people and injured dozens more, in a separate insurgency mostly unrelated to the violence in the north-west.

Ongoing Unrest and Data

There have been thousands of 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 hardest-hit regions.

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

Wider U.S. Military Posture

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

Neither the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any casualties in the latest airstrikes. When asked if more would follow, Tuggar replied: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an old conflict. For us it is something that is continuing.”