The United States carried out targeted airstrikes against Islamic State-linked militants in northwest Nigeria on Christmas Day, a top US Africa Command (Africom) official confirmed, marking the first US military operations in the country under the Trump administration.
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Lieutenant General John Brennan, Africom’s deputy commander, told AFP that the strikes focused on areas used by terrorist groups from the Sahel as staging grounds, specifically targeting fighters affiliated with the Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP), a group largely active in neighboring Niger.
“The targets were areas that all terrorist groups from the Sahel use as a staging area. The most recent information we received from the Nigerians was that it was ISIS Sahel-related,” Brennan said during a US-Nigeria security meeting in Abuja last week.
The strikes, conducted at the request of Nigerian authorities in Sokoto State, reportedly killed “multiple ISIS terrorists,” according to the US Africa Command and the Pentagon. Details on the number of casualties or collateral damage were not disclosed.
US President Donald Trump described the operations as “powerful and deadly” in a post on Truth Social, warning the militants to stop targeting Christians in Nigeria. “May God Bless our Military,” he added, noting that further action would follow if attacks on civilians continued.
The Pentagon emphasized that the strikes were part of a broader effort to support Nigeria in countering jihadist threats, with US forces increasing intelligence sharing, equipment deliveries, and coordination with local militaries. Brennan highlighted that US efforts in Africa have become “more aggressive,” particularly against IS-linked groups from Somalia to Nigeria.
The operations coincided with the inaugural US-Nigeria Joint Working Group meeting, held last week in Abuja, where officials discussed ongoing military collaboration, intelligence sharing, and operational support against insurgent groups, including Boko Haram and its splinter, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
Despite the cooperation, the strikes have sparked controversy, with analysts and Nigerian officials cautioning against framing the conflict solely as an attack on Christians. Mohammed Idris, Nigeria’s information minister, described the impact of the strikes as “still a work in progress,” noting that verification of militant casualties remains challenging.
Brennan stressed that US support would not be limited to protecting any single religious group. “Following the US strikes in northwestern Sokoto State, American support going forward will focus on intelligence sharing to aid Nigerian air strikes, including in the northeast where insurgency has persisted since 2009,” he said.
The US also maintains collaboration with Sahelian militaries in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, despite political instability and military coups in the region. Brennan noted that intelligence and operational support continue, even where formal diplomatic ties are strained.
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