US Issues Warning of Additional Nigeria Airstrikes as Abuja Talks of 'Joint Ongoing Missions'.

The American Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has indicated additional military actions against IS targets in northwest Nigeria. This follows a short time after American forces conducted operations against insurgent bases. The former president Donald Trump has characterized these actions as part of a mission to end the killing of Christians.

“The commander-in-chief was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria has to stop,” Hegseth wrote on a social platform. “The Department of Defense is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. There is more ahead … Grateful for Nigerian government backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!”

Nigeria's Foreign Minister Describes Actions 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 came after Trump had earlier accused Nigeria’s government of not doing enough to prevent Christians from being killed.

Nigeria is officially 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 sectarian targeting. The government in Abuja have pointed out that armed groups attack both Christians and Muslims.

Intelligence and Coordination Preceding the Missions

Nigeria provided the intelligence for the airstrikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a television network. He explained that he had consulted with his American opposite number, then contacted the Nigerian president for authorization, and subsequently conferred with the American official again.

“We have been working closely 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 end the death of innocent Nigerians … It’s a joint effort.”

The U.S. military’s Africom confirmed 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 borders Niger, have been used as hideouts by gangs of armed bandits and members of ISSP. Some observers say this IS branch originated when pastoralists banded together to fight bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is predominantly Muslim.

Clashes between Muslim herders and predominantly Christian farming communities have been exacerbated by communal and sectarian factors, but their core causes lie in competition for land and water.

• Priests and pastors have increasingly been 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 conflict mostly 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 50% of them targeting 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 “safeguarding Nigerians and innocent lives,” not one religion. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not targeting any religion.”

Wider American Foreign Posture

This action comes amid a wider pattern of U.S. military engagement overseas during this period. Despite campaigning as a “champion of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “endless wars,” the initial period of this term has seen military actions in multiple countries and a major military buildup in another region.

No official from the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any casualties in the recent 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 ongoing.”