American Signals of Additional Nigeria Airstrikes as Abuja Speaks of 'Joint Continuing Operations'.

The American defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has warned of further military actions against IS strongholds in northwest Nigeria. This comes hours after American forces took action against insurgent bases. The former president Donald Trump has framed these efforts as part of a mission to end the slaughter of Christians.

“The commander-in-chief was explicit last month: the killing of defenseless Christians in Nigeria needs to cease,” the defense secretary wrote on a social platform. “The Department of Defense is always ready, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. There is more ahead … Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

Nigeria's Foreign Minister Describes Strikes as Collaborative Operation

Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, said on Friday that the American military actions were “part of collaborative ongoing operations.” This statement followed after Trump had previously alleged Nigeria’s government of failing to stop Christians from being killed.

Nigeria is constitutionally a secular 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 religious persecution. Nigerian authorities have noted that armed groups target both Christians and Muslims.

Intelligence and Coordination Preceding the Airstrikes

Nigerian authorities supplied the information for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a local broadcaster. He detailed that he had consulted with his U.S. counterpart, then called 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 long desired, to work with the Americans, to cooperate with other countries, to fight terrorism, to stop the death of blameless Nigerians … It’s a joint effort.”

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

Background of Violence in North-West Nigeria

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

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

• Priests and religious leaders have been increasingly kidnapped for ransom, though some specialists 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 insurgency mostly separate to the violence in the north-west.

Ongoing Unrest and Statistics

There have been thousands of events of violence in Nigeria this year, with about 50% of them affecting 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 collaborative mission,” he said. “It is not targeting any religion.”

Broader American Foreign Posture

This intervention occurs 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 “endless wars,” the initial period 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 casualties in the recent airstrikes. When asked if more would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a new phase of an long-standing struggle. For us it is something that is continuing.”