American Issues Warning of Additional Nigeria Airstrikes as Abuja Talks of 'Collaborative Ongoing Missions'.

The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has signaled new military actions against IS positions in northwest Nigeria. This follows hours after U.S. military forces conducted operations against insurgent bases. The former president Donald Trump has framed these efforts as part of a mission to halt the killing of Christians.

“The commander-in-chief was clear last month: the killing of defenseless Christians in Nigeria must end,” the defense secretary posted on a social platform. “The Pentagon is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. There is more ahead … Thankful for Abuja's support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

The Nigerian Foreign Minister Frames Strikes as Collaborative Operation

Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, said on Friday that the American military actions were “part of joint ongoing operations.” This comment came after Trump had earlier accused Nigeria’s government of not doing enough to prevent Christians from being killed.

Nigeria is constitutionally a secular state with a population almost evenly split between Muslims and Christians. Violence against Christians has garnered focus from religious groups in the United States, who frame it as sectarian targeting. Nigerian authorities have pointed out that militants attack both Christians and Muslims.

Information and Collaboration Preceding the Airstrikes

Nigerian authorities provided the intelligence for the airstrikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a television network. He explained that he had spoken with his U.S. counterpart, then contacted the Nigerian president for approval, 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 death of blameless Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.”

The U.S. military’s Africa Command said the operations 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 hideouts by gangs of armed bandits and members of Islamic State – Sahel Province. Some observers say this IS branch started when pastoralists joined 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 ethnicity and religion, but their core causes lie in competition for land and water.

• Priests and religious leaders have been increasingly kidnapped for ransom, though some experts say this may be driven more by criminal incentives than religious discrimination.
• A Christmas Eve suicide bombing at a mosque in north-east Nigeria took the lives of at least five people and injured dozens more, in a distinct conflict largely separate to the violence in the north-west.

Continuing Unrest and Statistics

There have been thousands of incidents of violence in Nigeria this year, with about 50% of them targeting civilians, according to research data. States like Katsina and Sokoto have been among the hardest-hit regions.

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

Broader American Military Policy

This intervention comes amid a broader pattern of U.S. military engagement overseas during this period. Despite campaigning as a “champion of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the first year of this term has seen military actions in several countries and a major military buildup in another region.

No official from the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any casualties in the latest airstrikes. When questioned if more would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a new phase of an old conflict. For us it is something that is continuing.”