Friday, July 3, 2026 -The United States of America says it has withdrawn most of its forces deployed to Nigeria for a joint counterterrorism operation in the Lake Chad Basin.
The Commander of US Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa,
General Dagvin R.M. Anderson, disclosed this during a press briefing on the
outcome of the African Chiefs of Defence Conference 2026.
Recall that on December 25, 2025, the US carried out air
strikes on two terrorist enclaves in the Bauni Forest in Tangaza Local
Government Area of Sokoto State.
Also, in February, the United States deployed about 200
military personnel to Nigeria to support intelligence, surveillance and
counterterrorism operations in the Lake Chad Basin in the fight against ISIS
and other terrorist groups operating in the region.
The partnership led to the k!lling of Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki,
the second-in-command of ISIS, at his hideout in Borno State.
At the conference, General Dagvin R.M. Anderson highlighted
the role of US-Nigeria intelligence cooperation in counterterrorism operations
against the Islamic State (ISIS/Daesh).
He explained that the military operation had ended and most
US personnel involved had left for Washington DC.
He said, “And so that operation in the Lake Chad Basin of
Nigeria not only helped the countries in that immediate region; it also helps
countries globally as that disrupts the ISIS network.
“And then we have withdrawn much of our forces that were
just there for that operation, but are continuing the partnership that Nigeria
has asked for to help continue with the intelligence sharing and the
understanding that’s necessary to be able to prosecute these difficult
tasks.”
The US general described Nigeria as a capable partner with a
strong military and said the cooperation between both countries had yielded
significant results against ISIS.
He said US intelligence support, combined with Nigerian
military efforts, led to a successful operation against the second-in-command
of the ISIS global network.
“I think the partnership that we’ve shown recently with
Nigeria, where Nigeria’s a very capable and large country — it’s got a strong
economy; it’s got a large, educated population; it’s got a very capable
military.
“But there are things that we have learned in the
counterterrorist fight over several years that we were able to assist and
integrate with them to help them with their intelligence and help with the
intelligence sharing that eventually led to a cooperative effort to where we
were able to bring some unique capabilities that the U.S. brings and be able to
prosecute together the number two leader within the ISIS or Daesh organization
who is responsible for much of their global operations, their global media, and
their recruiting.
“So I think as we go forward, that is an example of how
we’re looking at engaging with partners to help them be more effective by only
bringing unique U.S. capabilities that allow the partner to be effective in
these fights,” he said.
He also advocated stronger intelligence sharing among
African countries to combat terrorism, illicit trafficking and other
transnational crimes.
He said effective communication and established partnerships
recently contributed to the interception of a record 31-ton cocaine shipment
originating from South America and transiting along the West African
coast.
“I was able to coordinate through our interagency in the
United States, through AFRICOM, and then notify some of the partners. And
eventually it was a Spanish ship that interdicted the ship that had 31 tons of
cocaine on it, and it turns out is the largest interdiction of drugs at sea
that we’ve ever seen,” Anderson said.
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