US Issues Warning of Additional Nigerian Strikes as Nigeria's Capital Talks of 'Joint Ongoing Operations'.

The American Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has indicated new airstrikes against IS targets in north-western Nigeria. This follows a short time after American forces took action against insurgent bases. The ex-president Donald Trump has described these actions as part of a campaign to end the slaughter of Christians.

“The commander-in-chief was explicit last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria has to stop,” the defense secretary posted on a social platform. “The Pentagon is constantly prepared, 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, remarked on Friday that the American military actions were “part of joint ongoing operations.” This statement came after the former U.S. leader had earlier accused Nigeria’s government of not doing enough to prevent Christians from being killed.

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

Information and Coordination Behind the Airstrikes

Nigerian authorities supplied the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a local broadcaster. He explained that he had consulted with his American opposite number, then called the Nigerian president for authorization, and then conferred with the American official again.

“We have been collaborating extensively with the Americans,” Tuggar said. “This is what we’ve always been hoping for, to work with the Americans, to cooperate with other countries, to fight terrorism, to end the death of blameless Nigerians … It’s a joint effort.”

The U.S. military’s Africom confirmed the strikes in Sokoto state had been carried out in concert with Nigerian authorities.

Background of Violence in Northwestern Nigeria

Forests in Sokoto state, which is adjacent to Niger, have been used as hideouts by gangs of armed bandits and members of ISSP. Some observers say this affiliate started when pastoralists banded together to fight bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.

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

• Priests and pastors have increasingly been taken hostage, though some specialists say this may be driven more by financial motives than sectarian hatred.
• A Christmas Eve suicide bombing 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.

Continuing Violence and Statistics

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 civilians,” not one religion. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not targeting any religion.”

Broader U.S. Military Policy

This action occurs amid a broader pattern of American engagement overseas during this period. 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 strikes in several countries and a major military buildup in another region.

Neither the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any fatalities in the latest airstrikes. When asked if more would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an old conflict. For us it is something that is continuing.”