US Warns of Additional Nigeria Military Actions as Abuja Speaks of 'Joint Ongoing Operations'.

The U.S. defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has signaled further strikes against IS strongholds in north-western Nigeria. This comes hours after U.S. military forces launched strikes against militant camps. The former president Donald Trump has described these efforts as part of a campaign to stop the killing of Christians.

“The commander-in-chief was clear last month: the killing of defenseless Christians in Nigeria has to stop,” the defense secretary stated on a social platform. “The Pentagon is always ready, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. More to come … Thankful for Abuja's support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

The Nigerian Top Diplomat Frames Strikes as Collaborative Effort

Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked on Friday that the American military actions were “part of joint continuing operations.” This statement came after Trump had earlier accused Nigeria’s government of failing to prevent Christians from being killed.

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

Information and Coordination Behind the Missions

Nigeria provided the information for the airstrikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a local broadcaster. He explained that he had consulted with his American opposite number, before contacted the Nigerian president for approval, and then spoke with the American official again.

“We have been working closely with the Americans,” Tuggar said. “This is what we’ve long desired, to partner with the Americans, to cooperate with other countries, to combat terrorism, to stop the death of innocent Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.”

The U.S. military’s Africa Command said the strikes in Sokoto state had been carried out in concert with Nigerian authorities.

Background of Conflict in Northwestern Nigeria

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

Conflicts between Muslim herders and mostly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by ethnicity and religion, but their core causes lie in competition for resources.

• Clergy and pastors have been increasingly taken hostage, 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 wounded dozens more, in a separate conflict mostly separate to the violence in the north-west.

Ongoing Unrest and Data

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 “protecting Nigerians and civilians,” not a single faith. “It is a collaborative mission,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.”

Broader American Foreign Posture

This action comes amid a wider pattern of U.S. military activity overseas during this administration. Despite campaigning as a “candidate of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “endless wars,” the first year of this term has seen strikes in several countries and a significant deployment of forces in another region.

No official from 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 responded: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an long-standing struggle. For us it is something that is continuing.”