American Signals of More Nigeria Airstrikes as Nigeria's Capital Speaks of 'Collaborative Ongoing Operations'.

The American defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has indicated new strikes against IS positions in northwest 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 campaign to end the killing of Christians.

“The commander-in-chief was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria has to stop,” the defense secretary wrote on a social platform. “The Pentagon is constantly prepared, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. Additional actions will follow … Thankful for Nigerian government backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!”

The Nigerian Foreign Minister Frames Actions as Joint Effort

Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, said on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of joint ongoing operations.” This comment came after Trump 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 garnered focus from religious groups in the United States, who frame it as religious persecution. The government in Abuja have pointed out that armed groups attack both Christians and Muslims.

Information and Collaboration Behind the Airstrikes

Nigeria provided the intelligence for the airstrikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a television network. He detailed that he had consulted with his American opposite number, then contacted the Nigerian president for approval, and subsequently conferred with the American official again.

“We have been working closely with the Americans,” Tuggar said. “This is what we’ve always been hoping for, to work with the Americans, to work with other countries, to fight terrorism, to end the killing of innocent Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.”

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

Context of Violence in North-West Nigeria

Forests in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as bases by criminal groups and members of Islamic State – Sahel Province. Some observers say this IS branch started when herders banded together to fight bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is predominantly Muslim.

Clashes between Muslim herders and mostly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by communal and sectarian factors, but their roots lie in competition for land and water.

• Priests and pastors have increasingly been kidnapped for ransom, though some experts say this may be driven more by criminal incentives than religious discrimination.
• A December 24th suicide bombing at a mosque in north-east Nigeria killed at least five people and wounded dozens more, in a separate conflict 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 half of them targeting civilians, according to conflict monitoring data. States like Katsina and Sokoto have been among the most affected regions.

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

Broader American Military Posture

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

Neither the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any fatalities in the recent airstrikes. When asked if more would follow, Tuggar replied: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an old conflict. For us it is something that is ongoing.”