US Warns of Additional Nigerian Strikes as Nigeria's Capital Talks of 'Joint Continuing Operations'.

The American defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has indicated further military actions against Islamic State positions in northwest Nigeria. This follows a short time after U.S. military forces launched strikes against insurgent bases. The former president Donald Trump has described these actions as part of a campaign to stop the killing of Christians.

“The president was clear previously: the killing of defenseless Christians in Nigeria has to stop,” the defense secretary stated on a social platform. “The Department of Defense is constantly prepared, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. More to come … Grateful for Nigerian government backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!”

Nigeria's Top Diplomat Describes Actions as Collaborative Operation

Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of collaborative continuing operations.” This statement came after Trump had previously accused Nigeria’s government of not doing enough to prevent Christians from being killed.

Nigeria is constitutionally a non-religious 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 sectarian targeting. Nigerian authorities have noted that armed groups target both Christians and Muslims.

Intelligence and Collaboration Behind the Missions

Nigerian authorities supplied the information for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a television network. He explained that he had spoken with his U.S. counterpart, before contacted the Nigerian president for approval, and subsequently spoke with the American official again.

“We have been collaborating extensively with the Americans,” Tuggar said. “This is what we’ve always been hoping for, to work with the Americans, to work with other countries, to combat terrorism, to stop the killing of innocent Nigerians … It’s a joint effort.”

The U.S. military’s Africom said the operations in Sokoto state had been executed in coordination with Nigerian authorities.

Context of Conflict in North-West Nigeria

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

Clashes between pastoralists and predominantly Christian farming communities have been exacerbated by communal and sectarian factors, but their roots lie in competition for land and water.

• Clergy and religious leaders have been increasingly kidnapped for ransom, 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 insurgency mostly unrelated to the violence in the north-west.

Ongoing Violence and Statistics

There have been numerous events 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 emphasized that the mission was about “protecting Nigerians and innocent lives,” not a single faith. “It is a collaborative mission,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.”

Broader American Military Policy

This action comes amid a wider pattern of U.S. military activity overseas during this period. Despite campaigning as a “champion of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “endless wars,” the initial period of this presidency has seen military actions in multiple countries and a major deployment of forces in another region.

Neither the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any fatalities in the recent airstrikes. When asked if more would follow, Tuggar replied: “You can call it a new phase of an old conflict. For us it is something that is ongoing.”