The United States has confirmed that its Christmas Day airstrikes in northwest Nigeria were aimed at militants affiliated with the Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP), a group primarily active in neighboring Niger.
The confirmation came from Lieutenant General John Brennan of the US Africa Command. Speaking to AFP during a US-Nigeria security meeting, Brennan stated, “The targets were areas that all terrorist groups from the Sahel use as a staging area. The most recent information we received from the Nigerians was it was ISIS Sahel related.”
The operation highlights growing concerns among security analysts about the potential expansion of ISSP’s influence from the Sahel region into coastal West African countries like Nigeria.
