The US has increased equipment deliveries and intelligence sharing with Nigeria to help African partners target militants linked to the Islamic State. Africom deputy commander Lt. Gen. John Brennan said Washington has also maintained informal contacts with junta-led Sahel militaries and adopted a more aggressive posture toward IS-affiliated groups. Recent US strikes in northwest Nigeria are followed by stepped-up intelligence support, though the impact remains "a work in progress," and Washington says it does not seek long-term bases in West Africa.
US Deepens Military Support and Intelligence Sharing With Nigeria in Wider Push Against Islamic State Affiliates
Deputy commander of Africa Command told AFP that the US is working to speed up materiel deliveries to Nigeria (Light Oriye Tamunotonye)(Light Oriye Tamunotonye/AFP/AFP)
The US military has stepped up equipment deliveries and expanded intelligence sharing with Nigeria as part of a broader US strategy to help African partners counter militants linked to the Islamic State, Africom's deputy commander told AFP.
Expanding Partnerships, Targeting IS-Affiliates
Lieutenant General John Brennan said the Pentagon has also kept communication channels open with the militaries of the junta-led Sahel states — Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali — despite strained relations with Western governments. He described a posture that has become "more aggressive" in targeting IS-linked threats across the continent.
"Under the Trump administration, we've gotten a lot more aggressive and (are) working with partners to target, kinetically, the threats, mainly ISIS," Brennan said on the sidelines of a US-Nigeria security meeting in Abuja.
Brennan said militants from Somalia to Nigeria form a connected problem set that the US and its partners are trying to dismantle, and that the approach emphasizes enabling local forces by providing equipment, capabilities and intelligence with fewer restrictions.
Recent Strikes and Ongoing Support
The first US-Nigeria Joint Working Group convened shortly after surprise US strikes on IS-linked targets in northwest Nigeria on Christmas Day. Brennan said follow-up support will focus on intelligence sharing to improve the effectiveness of Nigerian air operations in the northwest and the long-troubled northeast, where Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) remain active.
"Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) is our most concerning group," Brennan said. Analysts have tracked increased US intelligence flights over Nigeria, though some experts caution that air support alone may be insufficient against insurgents who exploit deep rural poverty and weak state presence.
Regional Contacts and Limits on Basing
While security cooperation with Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger has been curtailed after coups, Brennan said the US continues to share information with some military contacts in the Sahel to help strike key terrorist targets, even when ties are informal. He reiterated that the US is not seeking to reestablish permanent bases in the region: "We're not in the market to create a drone base anywhere," referencing the closed Agadez operations in Niger. "We are much more focused on getting capability to the right place at the right time and then leaving."
Unclear Impact and Political Sensitivities
Local and international journalists have been unable to independently verify militant casualties from the strikes. Nigerian information minister Mohammed Idris described the effects as "still a work in progress." Diplomatic tensions also surfaced during the Joint Working Group meeting after a senior State Department official urged Nigeria to "protect Christians," a framing critics say overlooked Muslim victims and risks inflaming sectarian sensitivities in a country roughly divided between a mostly Muslim north and a predominantly Christian south.
US officials say intelligence support is not intended to favor any group and that assistance aims to help Nigeria address the complex and overlapping security challenges posed by jihadist affiliates and other armed groups.
Help us improve.
