American Signals of More Nigeria Airstrikes as Abuja Talks of 'Joint Ongoing Operations'.

The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has warned of additional airstrikes against IS positions in north-western Nigeria. This comes hours after American forces took action against insurgent bases. 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 previously: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria has to stop,” Hegseth stated on a social platform. “The Pentagon is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. Additional actions will follow … Grateful for Abuja's support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

Nigeria's Top Diplomat Frames Strikes as Joint Operation

Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, said on Friday that the American military actions were “part of collaborative ongoing operations.” This statement came after the former U.S. leader had earlier accused Nigeria’s government of not doing enough to stop Christians from being killed.

Nigeria is officially a non-religious state with a population almost evenly split between Muslims and Christians. Violence against Christians has drawn attention from conservative groups in the United States, who describe it as sectarian targeting. Nigerian authorities have noted that militants attack both Christians and Muslims.

Information and Collaboration Behind the Airstrikes

Nigerian authorities provided the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a television network. He detailed that he had consulted with his U.S. counterpart, then called the Nigerian president for approval, and then conferred with the American official again.

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

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

Background of Violence in Northwestern Nigeria

Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as bases by gangs of armed bandits and members of ISSP. Some analysts say this IS branch started when pastoralists joined together to fight bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.

Conflicts between pastoralists and predominantly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by ethnicity and religion, but their core causes lie in competition for resources.

• Priests and religious leaders have increasingly been kidnapped for ransom, though some experts say this may be driven more by financial motives 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 separate insurgency largely unrelated 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 affecting civilians, according to research data. States like Katsina and Sokoto have been among the hardest-hit regions.

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

Wider U.S. Foreign Policy

This intervention comes amid a broader pattern of U.S. military engagement overseas during this administration. Despite campaigning 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.

No official from the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any fatalities in the latest 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.”