US withdraws troops from Nigeria counterterrorism operation, retains intelligence partnership

The United States has concluded a joint counterterrorism operation in Nigeria's Lake Chad Basin, withdrawing the majority of its deployed forces. However, Washington has affirmed its continued commitment to supporting Nigeria through intelligence sharing and other security cooperation measures, as requested by the Nigerian government.

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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 U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa, stated that while the specific military operation has ended, the partnership remains strong. He emphasized that U.S. intelligence support, combined with Nigeria's military efforts, has yielded significant results, including a successful operation against a high-ranking ISIS leader responsible for global operations and recruitment.

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And so, and then we have withdrawn much of our forces that were just there for that operation, but are continuing the partnership that Nigeria has asked for to help continue with the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 described Nigeria as a capable partner with a strong military and economy. He noted that the U.S. was able to integrate its unique capabilities with Nigerian efforts to achieve these successes. The operation in the Lake Chad Basin not only aided regional countries but also disrupted the broader ISIS network globally.

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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.

This development underscores the U.S. strategy of prioritizing intelligence cooperation and tailored support over extensive foreign military deployments. General Anderson indicated that this model of engagement, which assists partners in developing their own capabilities, is how the U.S. intends to proceed with future counterterrorism efforts.

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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.