American Signals of Additional Nigeria Airstrikes as Nigeria's Capital Speaks of 'Collaborative Ongoing Missions'.

The American Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has signaled new strikes against Islamic State positions in north-western Nigeria. This comes hours after U.S. military forces conducted operations against militant camps. The former president Donald Trump has framed these actions as part of a mission to stop the killing of Christians.

“The president was clear previously: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria has to stop,” the defense secretary stated on a social platform. “The Department of Defense is always ready, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. More to come … Thankful for Nigerian government backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!”

The Nigerian Top Diplomat Describes Strikes as Joint Effort

Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, stated on Friday that the American military actions were “part of collaborative ongoing operations.” This statement followed after the former U.S. leader had previously accused Nigeria’s government of not doing enough to stop Christians from being killed.

Nigeria is constitutionally a non-religious state with a population almost evenly split between Muslims and Christians. Violence against Christians has drawn attention from conservative groups in the United States, who describe it as sectarian targeting. The government in Abuja have pointed out that militants target both Christians and Muslims.

Information and Coordination Preceding the Missions

Nigeria provided the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a local broadcaster. He detailed that he had spoken with his American opposite number, then called the Nigerian president for authorization, and subsequently spoke with the American official again.

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

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

Context of Violence in Northwestern Nigeria

Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which is adjacent to Niger, have been used as bases by gangs of armed bandits and members of ISSP. Some analysts say this IS branch started when herders banded together to fight bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.

Conflicts between pastoralists and mostly Christian farming communities have been exacerbated by communal and sectarian factors, but their roots lie in competition for resources.

• Priests and pastors have increasingly been taken hostage, though some specialists say this may be driven more by criminal incentives than sectarian hatred.
• A December 24th suicide bombing at a mosque in north-east Nigeria took the lives of at least five people and wounded dozens more, in a distinct conflict largely separate to the violence in the north-west.

Ongoing Unrest and Data

There have been thousands of events of violence in Nigeria this year, with about half 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 mission was about “safeguarding Nigerians and innocent lives,” not one religion. “It is a collaborative mission,” he said. “It is not targeting any religion.”

Wider U.S. Military Policy

This action occurs amid a broader pattern of American activity overseas during this period. Despite campaigning as a “candidate of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “endless wars,” the initial period of this term has seen strikes in multiple countries and a major military buildup 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 responded: “You can call it a new phase of an old conflict. For us it is something that is continuing.”