US Signals of Further Nigeria Airstrikes as Abuja Talks of 'Joint Ongoing Missions'.

The American Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has indicated further airstrikes against IS targets in north-western Nigeria. This follows hours after U.S. military forces took action against militant camps. The ex-president Donald Trump has described these actions as part of a campaign to stop the killing of Christians.

“The president was explicit previously: the killing of defenseless Christians in Nigeria must end,” the defense secretary stated on a social platform. “The Department of Defense is always ready, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. More to come … Grateful for Nigerian government backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!”

Nigeria's Top Diplomat Describes Actions as Collaborative Operation

Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, said on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of joint continuing operations.” This statement followed after Trump had previously alleged Nigeria’s government of failing 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 garnered focus from religious groups in the United States, who frame 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

Nigeria provided the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a local broadcaster. He explained that he had consulted with his U.S. counterpart, then contacted the Nigerian president for approval, and subsequently conferred with the American official again.

“We have been collaborating extensively with the Americans,” Tuggar said. “This is what we’ve long desired, 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 Africa Command said the operations in Sokoto state had been carried out in coordination with Nigerian authorities.

Context of Conflict in Northwestern Nigeria

Forests in Sokoto state, which is adjacent to Niger, have been used as bases by criminal groups and members of Islamic State – Sahel Province. Some observers say this IS branch originated when herders joined together to combat bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is predominantly Muslim.

Conflicts between pastoralists and mostly 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 criminal incentives than religious discrimination.
• A Christmas Eve attack at a mosque in north-east Nigeria took the lives of at least five people and injured dozens more, in a separate conflict mostly unrelated to the violence in the north-west.

Ongoing Violence and Data

There have been thousands of incidents of violence in Nigeria this year, with about half of them affecting civilians, according to research data. States like Katsina and Sokoto have been among the hardest-hit regions.

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

Wider American Military Policy

This action occurs amid a broader pattern of U.S. military activity overseas during this period. Despite campaigning as a “champion of peace” who promised to withdraw the U.S. from “endless wars,” the initial period of this presidency has seen strikes in multiple countries and a major deployment of forces in another region.

Neither the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any fatalities in the recent airstrikes. When asked if additional actions would follow, Tuggar replied: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an old conflict. For us it is something that is continuing.”