American Issues Warning of Additional Nigeria Strikes as Nigeria's Capital Speaks of 'Joint Ongoing Missions'.

The American Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has indicated further strikes against IS positions in northwest Nigeria. This follows hours after U.S. military forces launched strikes against insurgent bases. The former president Donald Trump has described these efforts as part of a campaign to halt the killing of Christians.

“The commander-in-chief was clear previously: the murder of defenseless Christians in Nigeria must end,” the defense secretary posted on a social media platform. “The Department of Defense is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. Additional actions will follow … Grateful for Abuja's support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

Nigeria's Foreign Minister Describes Strikes as Joint Effort

Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of collaborative continuing operations.” This statement came after the former U.S. leader had previously alleged Nigeria’s government of failing 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 garnered focus from religious groups in the United States, who frame it as sectarian targeting. The government in Abuja have noted that militants attack both Christians and Muslims.

Intelligence and Coordination Behind the Airstrikes

Nigeria provided the information for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a local broadcaster. He detailed that he had consulted with his American opposite number, before contacted the Nigerian president for authorization, and subsequently spoke with the American official again.

“We have been collaborating extensively with the Americans,” Tuggar said. “This is what we’ve long desired, to partner with the Americans, to cooperate with other countries, to combat terrorism, to stop the killing of blameless Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.”

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

Context of Violence in Northwestern Nigeria

Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as hideouts by gangs of armed bandits and members of ISSP. Some observers say this IS branch originated when herders banded together to combat bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is predominantly Muslim.

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

• Clergy and pastors have been increasingly taken hostage, though some experts say this may be driven more by financial motives than religious discrimination.
• A Christmas Eve attack at a mosque in north-east Nigeria killed at least five people and wounded dozens more, in a separate conflict largely unrelated to the violence in the north-west.

Continuing Unrest and Statistics

There have been thousands of events of violence in Nigeria this year, with about half of them targeting civilians, according to conflict monitoring data. States like Katsina and Sokoto have been among the hardest-hit regions.

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

Broader U.S. Foreign Posture

This intervention comes amid a wider pattern of American engagement overseas during this administration. Despite campaigning as a “champion of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “endless wars,” the first year of this presidency has seen strikes in multiple countries and a major deployment of forces in another region.

No official from the U.S. or 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 fresh chapter of an old conflict. For us it is something that is ongoing.”