US Issues Warning of More Nigeria Strikes as Abuja Talks of 'Collaborative Continuing Missions'.

The U.S. defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has indicated new military actions against IS positions in northwest Nigeria. This follows hours after U.S. military forces launched strikes against militant camps. The former president Donald Trump has described these efforts as part of a mission to end the killing of Christians.

“The president was clear last month: the murder of innocent Christians in Nigeria has to stop,” Hegseth stated on a social media platform. “The Department of Defense is always ready, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. More to come … Thankful for Abuja's support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

Nigeria's Foreign Minister Describes Strikes as Joint Effort

Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked on Friday that the American military actions were “part of joint continuing operations.” This comment followed after the former U.S. leader had previously accused Nigeria’s government of not doing enough to prevent Christians from being killed.

Nigeria is officially a secular state with a population nearly divided between Muslims and Christians. Attacks against Christians has drawn attention from religious 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 Collaboration Behind the Airstrikes

Nigeria supplied the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a local broadcaster. He detailed that he had spoken with his American opposite number, 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 work with the Americans, to cooperate with other countries, to combat terrorism, to stop the killing of blameless Nigerians … It’s a joint effort.”

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

Background of Violence in Northwestern Nigeria

Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which is adjacent to Niger, have been used as bases by gangs of armed bandits and members of Islamic State – Sahel Province. Some analysts say this affiliate originated when herders banded together to fight bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is predominantly Muslim.

Clashes between Muslim herders and mostly Christian farming communities have been exacerbated by ethnicity and religion, but their roots lie in competition for land and water.

• Clergy and religious leaders have been increasingly taken hostage, though some experts say this may be driven more by financial motives 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 largely unrelated to the violence in the north-west.

Continuing Unrest and Data

There have been numerous incidents of violence in Nigeria this year, with about half of them affecting civilians, according to research data. States like Katsina and Sokoto have been among the most affected regions.

Tuggar emphasized that the operation was about “protecting Nigerians and innocent lives,” not one religion. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.”

Wider U.S. Foreign Policy

This action occurs amid a broader pattern of U.S. military engagement overseas during this period. Despite campaigning as a “candidate of peace” who promised to withdraw the U.S. from “endless wars,” the initial period of this term has seen strikes in several countries and a significant deployment of forces in another region.

Neither the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any fatalities in the latest airstrikes. When asked if additional actions would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a new phase of an old conflict. For us it is something that is continuing.”