US Issues Warning of More Nigerian Strikes as Abuja Talks of 'Collaborative Continuing Operations'.

The American defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has indicated further military actions against Islamic State strongholds in north-western Nigeria. This comes a short time after American forces conducted operations against militant camps. The ex-president Donald Trump has described these efforts as part of a campaign to halt the slaughter of Christians.

“The commander-in-chief was explicit last month: the murder 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 … Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

The Nigerian Foreign Minister Frames Strikes as Collaborative Operation

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

Nigeria is constitutionally a secular state with a population nearly divided between Muslims and Christians. Attacks against Christians has drawn attention from religious groups in the United States, who frame it as sectarian targeting. Nigerian authorities have noted that militants target both Christians and Muslims.

Intelligence and Collaboration Behind the Airstrikes

Nigerian authorities supplied the intelligence for the airstrikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a television network. He detailed that he had spoken with his American opposite number, before contacted the Nigerian president for authorization, and then conferred with the American official again.

“We have been working closely with the Americans,” Tuggar stated. “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 killing of blameless Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.”

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

Background of Conflict in North-West Nigeria

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

Conflicts between pastoralists and predominantly Christian farming communities have been exacerbated by communal and sectarian factors, but their core causes lie in disputes for resources.

• Clergy and religious leaders have been increasingly taken hostage, though some specialists 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 distinct insurgency largely separate to the violence in the north-west.

Continuing Violence and Statistics

There have been numerous incidents 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 hardest-hit regions.

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

Wider American Foreign Posture

This action occurs amid a broader pattern of U.S. military engagement 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 presidency has seen strikes in several countries and a major 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 additional actions would follow, Tuggar replied: “You can call it a new phase of an old conflict. For us it is something that is continuing.”