US Warns of More Nigerian Strikes as Abuja Talks of 'Joint Ongoing Operations'.

The American defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has warned of new strikes against IS targets in northwest 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 campaign to stop the slaughter of Christians.

“The commander-in-chief was clear last month: the murder of innocent Christians in Nigeria needs to cease,” the defense secretary posted on a social platform. “The Department of Defense is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. Additional actions will follow … Thankful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

The Nigerian Top Diplomat Frames Actions as Joint Operation

Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, said on Friday that the American military actions were “part of joint ongoing operations.” This comment came after the former U.S. leader had earlier 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. Attacks against Christians has drawn attention from religious groups in the United States, who describe it as sectarian targeting. The government in Abuja have pointed out that armed groups attack both Christians and Muslims.

Intelligence and Coordination Behind the Airstrikes

Nigerian authorities supplied the information for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a television network. He detailed that he had spoken with his U.S. counterpart, before contacted the Nigerian president for authorization, and then spoke 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 partner with the Americans, to work with other countries, to fight terrorism, to end the killing of innocent Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.”

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

Background of Violence in North-West Nigeria

Forests in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as bases by criminal groups and members of Islamic State – Sahel Province. Some analysts say this IS branch started when pastoralists joined together to combat bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is predominantly Muslim.

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

• Clergy and pastors have increasingly been taken hostage, though some experts say this may be driven more by criminal incentives 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 largely unrelated to the violence in the north-west.

Ongoing Unrest and Statistics

There have been numerous incidents of violence in Nigeria this year, with about half of them targeting civilians, according to research 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 a single faith. “It is a collaborative mission,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.”

Broader U.S. Foreign Posture

This action comes amid a wider pattern of American engagement overseas during this period. Despite campaigning as a “champion of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “endless wars,” the first year of this term has seen strikes in several countries and a major military buildup in another region.

No official from the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any fatalities in the latest airstrikes. When asked if more would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a new phase of an old conflict. For us it is something that is ongoing.”