(Image Credit: White House YouTube)
On the night of Christmas, the United States executed airstrikes on ISIS insurgents in the northwest part of Nigeria which was announced by President Donald Trump who also said that the strikes hit the rebels who mainly kill Christians. Trump characterized the military operation as a ‘powerful and deadly strike’ which was intended to cut down the strength of the ISIS linked organizations operating in the area. Through his post on social media, he portrayed the event as a part of the US pledge not to allow radical Islamic terrorism to thrive and stressed that such militant actions especially the supposed killing of Christians ‘would have a heavy price to pay’.
Although Trump’s declaration put the operation in the spotlight as a major successful operation against terrorism, US military representatives’ confirmation was not forthcoming immediately, and the assessment of ISIS combatants’ death toll and damage was not part of the reports at that time. The US air attacks were set against the backdrop of the US wider apprehension over extremist violence in Nigeria, especially in the northeastern section of the country where Islamist groups like ISWAP and Boko Haram operate. Washington had hinted earlier that it was ready to send troops if violence did not subside against certain groups and, along with that, the US had already conducted surveillance flights and raised the religion-related violence issue with Nigerian officials over the past few weeks.
The Nigerian administration has never accepted the narrative that violence is directed towards one community only and has always insisted that insecurity impacts every tribe and religion. Past diplomatic dialogues saw Nigeria agreeing to the extent of US help in the fight against insurgency provided the latter did not violate its sovereignty. In spite of these ups and downs, the air attacks signify a significant increase in US participation in West African anti terrorism measures, which in turn mirrors the US increasing interest in fighting ISIS connected groups outside the Middle East and Africa’s Sahel region.
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