US Signals of Further Nigeria Airstrikes as Nigeria's Capital Talks of 'Joint Ongoing Operations'.

The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has signaled additional airstrikes against IS positions in northwest Nigeria. This comes hours after American forces conducted operations against insurgent bases. The ex-president Donald Trump has described these efforts as part of a mission to end the killing of Christians.

“The president was clear last month: the murder of innocent Christians in Nigeria needs to cease,” the defense secretary wrote on a social platform. “The Pentagon is constantly prepared, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. Additional actions will follow … Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

The Nigerian Foreign Minister Describes Actions as Collaborative Operation

Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, stated on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of collaborative ongoing operations.” This comment followed after Trump had earlier accused Nigeria’s government of failing to stop Christians from being killed.

Nigeria is constitutionally a non-religious state with a population nearly divided between Muslims and Christians. Attacks against Christians has drawn attention from religious groups in the United States, who describe it as religious persecution. The government in Abuja have noted that militants target both Christians and Muslims.

Information and Collaboration Behind the Airstrikes

Nigeria supplied the information for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a local broadcaster. He explained that he had consulted with his U.S. counterpart, before called 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 partner with the Americans, to cooperate with other countries, to fight terrorism, to stop the death of innocent Nigerians … It’s a joint 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 Violence in North-West Nigeria

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

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

• Clergy and pastors have been increasingly taken hostage, though some experts say this may be driven more by criminal incentives than sectarian hatred.
• 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 distinct insurgency largely unrelated to the violence in the north-west.

Continuing Unrest and Data

There have been thousands of 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 emphasized that the operation was about “protecting Nigerians and civilians,” not a single faith. “It is a collaborative mission,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.”

Broader American Military Posture

This intervention occurs amid a broader pattern of American engagement overseas during this administration. Despite running as a “champion of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “endless wars,” the first year of this term has seen strikes in several countries and a significant military buildup in another region.

Neither the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any fatalities in the recent 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.”