US Signals of More Nigeria Airstrikes as Nigeria's Capital Talks of 'Collaborative Ongoing Operations'.

The U.S. defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has indicated additional military actions against IS strongholds in north-western Nigeria. This follows hours after U.S. military forces launched strikes against militant camps. The ex-president Donald Trump has described these efforts as part of a mission to stop the slaughter of Christians.

“The commander-in-chief was explicit previously: the murder of innocent Christians in Nigeria needs to cease,” Hegseth wrote on a social media platform. “The Department of Defense is constantly prepared, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. There is more ahead … Thankful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

The Nigerian Foreign Minister Describes Strikes as Joint Effort

Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, said on Friday that the American military actions were “part of joint ongoing operations.” This comment came after Trump had previously alleged Nigeria’s government of not doing enough to stop Christians from being killed.

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

Intelligence and Coordination Preceding the Airstrikes

Nigerian authorities provided the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a television network. He detailed that he had consulted with his U.S. counterpart, before contacted the Nigerian president for authorization, and subsequently spoke with the American official again.

“We have been working closely with the Americans,” Tuggar stated. “This is what we’ve always been hoping for, 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 executed in concert with Nigerian authorities.

Background of Conflict in North-West Nigeria

Wooded areas 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 IS branch originated when herders banded together to fight bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is predominantly Muslim.

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

• Priests and religious leaders have been increasingly 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 killed at least five people and wounded dozens more, in a separate insurgency largely separate to the violence in the north-west.

Ongoing Violence and Statistics

There have been thousands of incidents of violence in Nigeria this year, with about half of them affecting civilians, according to conflict monitoring data. States like Katsina and Sokoto have been among the hardest-hit regions.

Tuggar emphasized that the operation was about “safeguarding Nigerians and civilians,” not one religion. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not targeting any religion.”

Broader U.S. Military Posture

This action comes amid a wider pattern of U.S. military engagement overseas during this period. Despite running as a “champion of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the first year of this term has seen military actions in multiple countries and a major deployment of forces in another region.

No official from the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any fatalities in the latest airstrikes. When asked if additional actions would follow, Tuggar replied: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an long-standing struggle. For us it is something that is continuing.”