US Warns of Additional Nigeria Airstrikes as Abuja Talks of 'Joint Ongoing Missions'.

The U.S. defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has indicated further airstrikes against ISIS strongholds in northwest Nigeria. This follows hours after U.S. military forces took action against militant camps. The ex-president Donald Trump has described these actions as part of a campaign to end the slaughter of Christians.

“The president was clear previously: the killing of defenseless Christians in Nigeria needs to cease,” Hegseth wrote on a social media platform. “The Department of Defense 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 Strikes as Collaborative Operation

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

Nigeria is officially a secular state with a population nearly divided between Muslims and Christians. Violence against Christians has garnered focus from conservative 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 Missions

Nigeria supplied the information for the airstrikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a television network. He explained that he had spoken with his U.S. counterpart, then called 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 long desired, to work with the Americans, to work with other countries, to combat terrorism, to end the killing of blameless Nigerians … It’s a joint effort.”

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

Background of Conflict in Northwestern Nigeria

Forests in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as bases by criminal groups and members of ISSP. Some observers say this affiliate started when herders 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 communal and sectarian factors, but their core causes lie in competition for resources.

• 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 suicide bombing at a mosque in north-east Nigeria killed at least five people and injured dozens more, in a distinct conflict largely separate to the violence in the north-west.

Continuing Violence 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 most affected regions.

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

Wider American Military Posture

This intervention occurs amid a wider pattern of U.S. military engagement overseas during this period. Despite running as a “candidate of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the initial period of this presidency has seen military actions in multiple countries and a significant deployment of forces in another region.

Neither the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any fatalities in the latest airstrikes. When questioned if more would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a new phase of an long-standing struggle. For us it is something that is ongoing.”