American Signals of Additional Nigeria Airstrikes as Abuja Talks of 'Joint Continuing Missions'.

The U.S. defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has indicated additional military actions against ISIS targets in northwest Nigeria. This comes hours after American forces took action against insurgent bases. The former president Donald Trump has framed these efforts as part of a mission to stop the killing of Christians.

“The commander-in-chief was clear previously: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria needs to cease,” the defense secretary posted on a social platform. “The Department of Defense is constantly prepared, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. More to come … Grateful for Nigerian government backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!”

Nigeria's Foreign Minister Describes Strikes as Joint Operation

Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of collaborative continuing operations.” This comment came after the former U.S. leader had previously alleged Nigeria’s government of not doing enough to prevent Christians from being killed.

Nigeria is officially 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 religious persecution. Nigerian authorities have pointed out that armed groups attack both Christians and Muslims.

Intelligence and Coordination Behind the Airstrikes

Nigerian authorities supplied the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a local broadcaster. He detailed that he had spoken with his U.S. counterpart, before contacted the Nigerian president for approval, and then conferred with the American official again.

“We have been collaborating extensively with the Americans,” Tuggar stated. “This is what we’ve long desired, to partner with the Americans, to cooperate with other countries, to fight terrorism, to stop the killing of blameless Nigerians … It’s a joint effort.”

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

Context of Conflict in North-West Nigeria

Wooded areas 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 pastoralists joined together to fight bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is predominantly Muslim.

Conflicts between Muslim herders and mostly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by communal and sectarian factors, but their core causes lie in disputes for land and water.

• 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 December 24th attack at a mosque in north-east Nigeria took the lives of at least five people and wounded dozens more, in a separate insurgency largely separate to the violence in the north-west.

Ongoing Violence 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 stressed that the mission was about “protecting Nigerians and innocent lives,” not one religion. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not targeting any religion.”

Wider American Military Policy

This intervention occurs amid a wider pattern of American activity overseas during this period. Despite running as a “champion of peace” who promised to withdraw the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the initial period of this presidency has seen strikes in several countries and a major deployment of forces in another region.

Neither the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any casualties 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.”