US Signals of Further Nigeria Airstrikes as Nigeria's Capital Speaks of 'Joint Ongoing Missions'.

The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has signaled additional strikes against Islamic State targets in north-western Nigeria. This comes hours after U.S. military forces launched strikes against insurgent bases. The former president Donald Trump has framed these actions as part of a mission to end the slaughter of Christians.

“The president was explicit previously: the murder of defenseless Christians in Nigeria must end,” the defense secretary stated on a social media platform. “The Pentagon is constantly prepared, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. More to come … Thankful for Abuja's support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

Nigeria's Foreign Minister Frames Strikes as Collaborative Effort

Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, stated on Friday that the American military actions were “part of collaborative ongoing operations.” This statement came after the former U.S. leader had earlier alleged Nigeria’s government of failing to stop Christians from being killed.

Nigeria is constitutionally a secular state with a population almost evenly split between Muslims and Christians. Attacks against Christians has garnered focus from religious groups in the United States, who describe it as sectarian targeting. The government in Abuja have pointed out that militants target both Christians and Muslims.

Information and Coordination Preceding the Missions

Nigeria provided the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a television network. He detailed that he had consulted with his U.S. counterpart, before contacted 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 long desired, to partner with the Americans, to work with other countries, to fight terrorism, to stop the killing of innocent Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.”

The U.S. military’s Africa Command said the strikes in Sokoto state had been carried out in concert with local officials.

Context of Violence in North-West Nigeria

Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which is adjacent to Niger, have been used as hideouts by gangs of armed bandits and members of Islamic State – Sahel Province. Some analysts say this IS branch started when pastoralists joined together to combat bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is predominantly Muslim.

Conflicts between pastoralists and mostly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by communal and sectarian factors, but their core causes lie in disputes for resources.

• Clergy and religious leaders have been increasingly kidnapped for ransom, though some specialists say this may be driven more by criminal incentives than sectarian hatred.
• A Christmas Eve attack at a mosque in north-east Nigeria took the lives of at least five people and injured dozens more, in a separate insurgency mostly unrelated to the violence in the north-west.

Ongoing Unrest and Data

There have been thousands of 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 hardest-hit regions.

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

Wider U.S. Military Posture

This intervention comes amid a wider pattern of U.S. military engagement overseas during this period. Despite running 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 asked if additional actions would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a new phase of an old conflict. For us it is something that is ongoing.”