The United States military personnel deployed for a joint counterterrorism operation in Nigeria ,has been withdrawn but officials says it will continue sharing intelligence and supporting the Nigeria’s security efforts against the Islamic State (ISIS).
The Commander of US Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa, General Dagvin R.M. Anderson, disclosed this on Thursday during a press briefing on the outcome of the African Chiefs of Defence Conference 2026.
“And so that operation in the Lake Chad Basin of Nigeria not only helped the countries in that immediate region; it also helped countries globally as that disrupted the ISIS network,” Anderson said.
“And then we have withdrawn much of our forces that were just there for that operation, but are continuing the partnership that Nigeria has asked for to help continue with the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 military chief described Nigeria as a capable security partner with a strong armed forces, noting that collaboration between both countries has delivered significant gains in the fight against ISIS.
He added that intelligence provided by the United States, combined with Nigerian military operations, contributed to the successful elimination of the second-in-command of the global ISIS network, underscoring the effectiveness of the ongoing security partnership despite the withdrawal of US troops.
