US Issues Warning of More Nigerian Airstrikes as Nigeria's Capital Speaks of 'Joint Continuing Operations'.

The U.S. defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has indicated further airstrikes against Islamic State strongholds in northwest Nigeria. This comes hours after U.S. military forces took action against insurgent bases. The former president Donald Trump has described these actions as part of a mission to stop the slaughter of Christians.

“The commander-in-chief was explicit previously: 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 discovered tonight – on Christmas. There is more ahead … Grateful for Nigerian government backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!”

Nigeria's Top Diplomat Frames Strikes as Collaborative Effort

Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, stated on Friday that the American military actions were “part of joint continuing operations.” This comment followed after Trump had previously alleged Nigeria’s government of failing to prevent 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 garnered focus from religious groups in the United States, who frame it as religious persecution. Nigerian authorities have noted that armed groups attack both Christians and Muslims.

Information and Collaboration Behind the Missions

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

“We have been working closely with the Americans,” Tuggar stated. “This is what we’ve long desired, to work with the Americans, to work with other countries, to combat terrorism, to end the killing of blameless Nigerians … It’s a joint effort.”

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

Context of Conflict in North-West Nigeria

Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as hideouts by gangs of armed bandits and members of Islamic State – Sahel Province. Some analysts say this affiliate started when herders banded together to combat bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.

Clashes between pastoralists and mostly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by communal and sectarian factors, but their core causes lie in disputes for land and water.

• Priests and pastors have been increasingly taken hostage, though some specialists 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 mostly unrelated to the violence in the north-west.

Continuing Unrest and Statistics

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 stressed that the mission was about “protecting Nigerians and civilians,” not one religion. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.”

Wider U.S. Military Policy

This action comes amid a wider pattern of American engagement overseas during this administration. Despite running as a “candidate of peace” who promised to withdraw the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the initial period of this term has seen military actions in multiple countries and a significant military buildup 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.”