American Signals of More Nigerian Military Actions as Nigeria's Capital Talks of 'Collaborative Continuing Operations'.

The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has indicated new airstrikes against ISIS strongholds in north-western Nigeria. This follows a short time after U.S. military forces launched strikes against insurgent bases. The former president Donald Trump has framed these efforts as part of a mission to end the slaughter of Christians.

“The president was explicit last month: the killing of defenseless Christians in Nigeria must end,” the defense secretary wrote on a social media platform. “The Pentagon is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. Additional actions will follow … Thankful for Abuja's support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

The Nigerian Top Diplomat Frames Actions as Collaborative Effort

Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, stated on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of collaborative ongoing operations.” This comment followed after the former U.S. leader had previously alleged Nigeria’s government of failing to stop Christians from being killed.

Nigeria is officially a secular state with a population nearly divided between Muslims and Christians. Attacks 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 Airstrikes

Nigerian authorities provided the information for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a television network. He explained that he had consulted with his U.S. counterpart, then contacted the Nigerian president for authorization, and then spoke 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 partner with the Americans, to work with other countries, to fight terrorism, to stop the death of blameless Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.”

The U.S. military’s Africom confirmed the operations in Sokoto state had been executed in coordination with local officials.

Context of Violence in Northwestern Nigeria

Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which is adjacent to Niger, have been used as hideouts by criminal groups and members of Islamic State – Sahel Province. Some analysts say this IS branch started when herders joined together to combat 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 ethnicity and religion, but their core causes lie in competition for resources.

• Priests and religious leaders have increasingly been kidnapped for ransom, though some experts say this may be driven more by criminal incentives than sectarian hatred.
• A Christmas Eve suicide bombing at a mosque in north-east Nigeria took the lives of at least five people and injured dozens more, in a distinct insurgency mostly separate to the violence in the north-west.

Ongoing Violence and Statistics

There have been thousands of events of violence in Nigeria this year, with about 50% of them targeting 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 aimed at any religion.”

Broader American Foreign Policy

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

Neither the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any casualties in the latest 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.”