US pulls troops from Nigeria after counterterrorism operation

The United States has concluded the majority of its military deployment to Nigeria for a joint counterterrorism operation in the Lake Chad Basin, marking the end of a significant phase in the partnership. While most personnel have departed, the security cooperation between Washington and Abuja remains active, with a continued focus on intelligence sharing to combat extremist groups.

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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.

General Dagvin R.M. Anderson, Commander of US Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa, announced the withdrawal during a virtual press briefing. He explained that the specific mission necessitating the troop presence has been accomplished. "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," Anderson stated. He emphasized that the US would continue to support Nigeria's security needs through intelligence assistance as requested by the Nigerian government.

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And so, and then we have withdrawn much of our forces that were just there for that operation, but are continuing the partnership that Nigeria has asked for to help continue with the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.

Anderson highlighted Nigeria's role as a key regional partner, praising its capable military and the productive collaboration that has yielded substantial gains against ISIS. He credited intelligence cooperation for enabling an operation that successfully eliminated the second-highest-ranking figure in the global ISIS network. "I think the partnership that we’ve shown recently with Nigeria, where Nigeria’s a very capable and large country... 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," he said.

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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.

The US commander underscored the effectiveness of intelligence collaboration, suggesting it can be more impactful than prolonged foreign troop deployments. "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," Anderson remarked. He also advocated for enhanced intelligence cooperation among African nations to address shared security challenges like terrorism and drug trafficking.

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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