🔗 Share this article US Signals of Additional Nigerian Airstrikes as Nigeria's Capital Talks of 'Collaborative Continuing Missions'. The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has warned of further strikes against ISIS strongholds in north-western Nigeria. This comes a short time after American forces took action against militant camps. The ex-president Donald Trump has described these actions as part of a campaign to halt the killing of Christians. “The president was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria must end,” the defense secretary stated on a social platform. “The Pentagon is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. Additional actions will follow … Grateful for Nigerian government backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!” The Nigerian Foreign Minister Describes Strikes as Collaborative Operation Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, said on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of collaborative continuing operations.” This statement came after the former U.S. leader had previously alleged Nigeria’s government of failing to stop 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 conservative groups in the United States, who describe it as religious persecution. The government in Abuja 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, then called 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 long desired, to work with the Americans, to work with other countries, to fight terrorism, to stop the death of blameless Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.” The U.S. military’s Africom said the operations in Sokoto state had been carried out in concert with local officials. Background of Violence in North-West Nigeria Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as hideouts by criminal groups and members of ISSP. Some analysts say this IS branch started when herders banded together to combat bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is predominantly Muslim. Clashes between pastoralists and predominantly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by communal and sectarian factors, but their core causes lie in disputes for resources. Clergy and pastors have increasingly been taken hostage, though some experts say this may be driven more by financial motives than religious discrimination. 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 separate insurgency mostly unrelated to the violence in the north-west. Continuing Violence and Statistics There have been numerous incidents 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 emphasized that the mission was about “protecting Nigerians and innocent lives,” not one religion. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.” Broader U.S. Military Posture This intervention comes amid a wider pattern of U.S. military engagement overseas during this administration. Despite campaigning as a “champion 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 major military buildup in another region. No official from the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any fatalities in the latest airstrikes. When questioned if additional actions would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a new phase of an long-standing struggle. For us it is something that is ongoing.”
The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has warned of further strikes against ISIS strongholds in north-western Nigeria. This comes a short time after American forces took action against militant camps. The ex-president Donald Trump has described these actions as part of a campaign to halt the killing of Christians. “The president was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria must end,” the defense secretary stated on a social platform. “The Pentagon is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. Additional actions will follow … Grateful for Nigerian government backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!” The Nigerian Foreign Minister Describes Strikes as Collaborative Operation Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, said on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of collaborative continuing operations.” This statement came after the former U.S. leader had previously alleged Nigeria’s government of failing to stop 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 conservative groups in the United States, who describe it as religious persecution. The government in Abuja 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, then called 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 long desired, to work with the Americans, to work with other countries, to fight terrorism, to stop the death of blameless Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.” The U.S. military’s Africom said the operations in Sokoto state had been carried out in concert with local officials. Background of Violence in North-West Nigeria Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as hideouts by criminal groups and members of ISSP. Some analysts say this IS branch started when herders banded together to combat bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is predominantly Muslim. Clashes between pastoralists and predominantly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by communal and sectarian factors, but their core causes lie in disputes for resources. Clergy and pastors have increasingly been taken hostage, though some experts say this may be driven more by financial motives than religious discrimination. 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 separate insurgency mostly unrelated to the violence in the north-west. Continuing Violence and Statistics There have been numerous incidents 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 emphasized that the mission was about “protecting Nigerians and innocent lives,” not one religion. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.” Broader U.S. Military Posture This intervention comes amid a wider pattern of U.S. military engagement overseas during this administration. Despite campaigning as a “champion 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 major military buildup in another region. No official from the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any fatalities in the latest airstrikes. When questioned if additional actions would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a new phase of an long-standing struggle. For us it is something that is ongoing.”