American Issues Warning of More Nigerian Airstrikes as Nigeria's Capital Speaks of 'Collaborative Ongoing Missions'.

The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has signaled new military actions against Islamic State strongholds in north-western Nigeria. This comes hours after American forces launched strikes against insurgent bases. The ex-president Donald Trump has characterized these actions as part of a campaign to stop the killing of Christians.

“The commander-in-chief was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria needs to cease,” Hegseth stated on a social platform. “The Department of Defense is constantly prepared, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. Additional actions will follow … Grateful for Abuja's backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!”

Nigeria's Top Diplomat Describes Actions as Joint Effort

Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, said on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of collaborative continuing operations.” This comment followed after the former U.S. leader had earlier alleged Nigeria’s government of not doing enough to prevent Christians from being killed.

Nigeria is constitutionally a non-religious state with a population almost evenly split between Muslims and Christians. Attacks against Christians has drawn attention from conservative groups in the United States, who describe it as religious persecution. The government in Abuja have noted that armed groups attack both Christians and Muslims.

Intelligence and Collaboration Preceding the Airstrikes

Nigeria supplied the information for the airstrikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a television network. He detailed that he had spoken with his U.S. counterpart, before called the Nigerian president for approval, and then spoke 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 work with the Americans, to work with other countries, to combat terrorism, to stop the death of innocent Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.”

The U.S. military’s Africom said the operations in Sokoto state had been carried out in concert with Nigerian authorities.

Context of Violence in Northwestern Nigeria

Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as hideouts by criminal groups and members of ISSP. Some analysts say this affiliate originated when herders banded together to combat bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is predominantly Muslim.

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

• Priests and religious leaders 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 took the lives of at least five people and wounded dozens more, in a separate insurgency mostly separate to the violence in the north-west.

Ongoing Violence and Statistics

There have been thousands of events 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 most affected regions.

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

Broader U.S. Military Policy

This intervention occurs amid a broader pattern of American 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 term has seen strikes in several countries and a significant military buildup in another region.

Neither the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any casualties in the latest airstrikes. When asked if additional actions would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an long-standing struggle. For us it is something that is continuing.”