US Issues Warning of Further Nigerian Strikes as Nigeria's Capital Talks of 'Joint Continuing Operations'.

The U.S. defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has warned of new strikes against IS positions in north-western Nigeria. This comes hours after U.S. military forces launched strikes against militant camps. The former president Donald Trump has framed these actions as part of a mission to stop the killing of Christians.

“The commander-in-chief was clear last month: the murder of innocent Christians in Nigeria has to stop,” Hegseth wrote on a social media platform. “The Pentagon is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. More to come … Thankful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

The Nigerian Foreign Minister Describes Actions as Collaborative Effort

Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked on Friday that the American military actions were “part of joint continuing operations.” This comment came after Trump had previously alleged Nigeria’s government of failing to prevent Christians from being killed.

Nigeria is constitutionally a secular state with a population nearly divided 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 noted that militants target both Christians and Muslims.

Information and Coordination Preceding the Airstrikes

Nigerian authorities provided the intelligence for the airstrikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a local broadcaster. He explained that he had consulted with his American opposite number, before contacted the Nigerian president for authorization, and then conferred with the American official again.

“We have been working closely with the Americans,” Tuggar said. “This is what we’ve always been hoping for, to partner with the Americans, to work with other countries, to combat terrorism, to stop the death of blameless Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.”

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

Context of Conflict in Northwestern 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 herders banded together to combat bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.

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

• Clergy and religious leaders have increasingly been taken hostage, 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 insurgency largely unrelated to the violence in the north-west.

Continuing Violence and Data

There have been numerous 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 operation was about “protecting Nigerians and innocent lives,” not one religion. “It is a collaborative mission,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.”

Wider American Military Policy

This intervention comes amid a broader pattern of U.S. military activity overseas during this period. Despite running as a “candidate of peace” who promised to withdraw the U.S. from “endless wars,” the initial period of this term has seen strikes in multiple countries and a significant military buildup in another region.

Neither the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any fatalities in the recent 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.”