US Signals of More Nigeria Airstrikes as Nigeria's Capital Speaks of 'Collaborative Continuing Operations'.

The American defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has signaled additional airstrikes against IS strongholds in northwest Nigeria. This comes a short time after American forces conducted operations against insurgent bases. The ex-president Donald Trump has described these efforts as part of a campaign to halt the slaughter of Christians.

“The president was explicit last month: the murder of defenseless Christians in Nigeria must end,” Hegseth stated on a social media platform. “The Pentagon is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. More to come … Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

Nigeria's Foreign Minister Frames Strikes as Joint Operation

Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked on Friday that the American military actions were “part of collaborative continuing operations.” This statement followed after Trump had previously accused 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. Violence against Christians has drawn attention from religious groups in the United States, who frame it as sectarian targeting. The government in Abuja have noted that militants target both Christians and Muslims.

Information and Coordination Preceding the Airstrikes

Nigeria provided the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a television network. He explained that he had spoken with his American opposite number, then called the Nigerian president for approval, and subsequently spoke with the American official again.

“We have been working closely with the Americans,” Tuggar said. “This is what we’ve long desired, to work with the Americans, to work with other countries, to combat terrorism, to stop the killing of innocent Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.”

The U.S. military’s Africa Command confirmed the strikes in Sokoto state had been carried out in concert with local officials.

Background of Violence in North-West 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 banded together to fight bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.

Clashes between pastoralists and predominantly Christian farming communities have been exacerbated by ethnicity and religion, but their core causes lie in competition for resources.

• Priests 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 killed at least five people and wounded dozens more, in a separate insurgency largely 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 50% 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 “safeguarding Nigerians and civilians,” not one religion. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not targeting any religion.”

Broader U.S. Military Posture

This intervention comes amid a broader pattern of American engagement overseas during this administration. Despite campaigning 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 major deployment of forces in another region.

No official from the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any casualties in the latest airstrikes. When asked if more would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a new phase of an old conflict. For us it is something that is continuing.”