US Signals of Additional Nigeria Airstrikes as Nigeria's Capital Talks of 'Joint Ongoing Operations'.

The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has warned of new military actions against IS positions in north-western Nigeria. This comes hours after U.S. military forces took action against militant camps. The ex-president Donald Trump has characterized these efforts as part of a mission to halt the killing of Christians.

“The commander-in-chief was clear previously: the murder of defenseless Christians in Nigeria has to stop,” Hegseth wrote on a social platform. “The Pentagon is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. There is more ahead … Thankful for Abuja's support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

The Nigerian Foreign Minister Frames Strikes as Joint Operation

Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of collaborative continuing operations.” This statement followed after Trump had previously accused Nigeria’s government of not doing enough to stop 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. The government in Abuja have noted that armed groups attack both Christians and Muslims.

Intelligence and Collaboration Preceding the Airstrikes

Nigeria supplied the intelligence for the airstrikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a television network. He detailed that he had consulted with his American opposite number, then called the Nigerian president for approval, and subsequently 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 work 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 said the strikes in Sokoto state had been executed in concert with local officials.

Context of Conflict in Northwestern Nigeria

Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as bases by gangs of armed bandits and members of Islamic State – Sahel Province. Some observers say this IS branch started when pastoralists 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 resources.

• Clergy and religious leaders have been increasingly taken hostage, though some specialists say this may be driven more by criminal incentives than sectarian hatred.
• 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 separate conflict largely separate to the violence in the north-west.

Ongoing Violence and Statistics

There have been numerous events of violence in Nigeria this year, with about 50% of them targeting civilians, according to conflict monitoring data. States like Katsina and Sokoto have been among the most affected regions.

Tuggar emphasized that the mission was about “protecting Nigerians and civilians,” not one religion. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.”

Wider American Foreign Policy

This action comes amid a wider pattern of American activity overseas during this period. Despite campaigning as a “candidate of peace” who promised to withdraw the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the first year of this term has seen strikes in multiple countries and a major military buildup in another region.

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