American Signals of More Nigerian Airstrikes as Nigeria's Capital Talks of 'Joint Ongoing Operations'.

The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has warned of new military actions against ISIS targets in northwest Nigeria. This comes hours after U.S. military forces conducted operations against militant camps. The ex-president Donald Trump has described these actions as part of a mission to halt the killing of Christians.

“The commander-in-chief was explicit previously: the murder of innocent Christians in Nigeria needs to cease,” Hegseth wrote on a social platform. “The Department of Defense is always ready, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. There is more ahead … Grateful for Abuja's support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

Nigeria's Top Diplomat Describes Actions as Collaborative Operation

Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked on Friday that the American military actions were “part of collaborative continuing operations.” This comment followed 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 drawn attention 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.

Information and Coordination Behind the Missions

Nigeria supplied the intelligence for the strikes 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 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 fight terrorism, to stop the killing of innocent Nigerians … It’s a joint effort.”

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

Context of Violence in Northwestern Nigeria

Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which is adjacent to Niger, have been used as hideouts by criminal groups and members of ISSP. Some observers say this IS branch originated when pastoralists joined 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 roots lie in competition for resources.

• Priests and pastors have been increasingly taken hostage, though some experts say this may be driven more by financial motives than sectarian hatred.
• A Christmas Eve attack at a mosque in north-east Nigeria killed at least five people and injured 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 50% of them targeting civilians, according to research data. States like Katsina and Sokoto have been among the most affected regions.

Tuggar emphasized 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.”

Broader U.S. Foreign Policy

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

No official from the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any casualties in the latest 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 continuing.”