US Warns of More Nigerian Airstrikes as Nigeria's Capital Talks of 'Collaborative Ongoing Missions'.

The American Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has indicated further airstrikes against ISIS targets in north-western Nigeria. This follows hours after American forces conducted operations against insurgent bases. The ex-president Donald Trump has described these actions as part of a campaign to stop the killing of Christians.

“The commander-in-chief was explicit last month: the killing of defenseless Christians in Nigeria must end,” the defense secretary wrote on a social media 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!”

Nigeria's Foreign Minister Frames Strikes as Collaborative Operation

Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked on Friday that the American military actions were “part of joint ongoing operations.” This comment followed after Trump had earlier accused 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 religious groups in the United States, who frame it as religious persecution. The government in Abuja have noted that armed groups attack both Christians and Muslims.

Information and Coordination Preceding the Airstrikes

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

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

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

Context of Violence in North-West Nigeria

Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which is adjacent to Niger, have been used as hideouts by criminal groups and members of Islamic State – Sahel Province. Some analysts say this affiliate started when pastoralists banded together to fight bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.

Clashes between Muslim herders and predominantly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by communal and sectarian factors, but their core causes lie in competition for resources.

• Clergy and pastors have increasingly been taken hostage, though some specialists say this may be driven more by criminal incentives than sectarian hatred.
• 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 conflict largely unrelated to the violence in the north-west.

Continuing Violence and Data

There have been thousands of incidents of violence in Nigeria this year, with about 50% of them affecting 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 “safeguarding Nigerians and civilians,” not one religion. “It is a collaborative mission,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.”

Broader American Military Policy

This action occurs amid a wider pattern of U.S. military engagement overseas during this period. Despite campaigning as a “champion of peace” who promised to withdraw the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” 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. or Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any fatalities 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.”