U.S. troops arrive in Nigeria for assist mission in opposition to militants

[ad_1] NEW Now you can hearken to Fox Information articles!

Round 100 U.S. troops and navy tools arrived in Nigeria Monday to assist support local forces battling Islamic militants and different armed teams within the West African nation, the Nigerian navy stated.

The U.S. personnel touched down as a part of a broader safety cooperation effort between Washington and Abuja with 100 extra arriving over time.

The arrival got here on the request of the Nigerian authorities, which sought help with coaching, technical assist and intelligence sharing because it confronts violence, the Associated Press reported.

About 200 U.S. Africa Command personnel are anticipated to deploy to Nigeria in whole and in what officers have described as a assist mission geared toward strengthening the capability of Nigerian forces.

NIGERIA’S FIRST LADY SAYS US STRIKES WERE A ‘BLESSING,' WELCOMES COLLABORATION WITH TRUMP

<source media="(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2026/01/672/378/brennan-africom-meets-nigeria-officials-arrival-handshake.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2026/01/1344/756/brennan-africom-meets-nigeria-officials-arrival-handshake.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="378" width="672"><source media="(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2026/01/931/523/brennan-africom-meets-nigeria-officials-arrival-handshake.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2026/01/1862/1046/brennan-africom-meets-nigeria-officials-arrival-handshake.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="523" width="931"> U.S. Military Lt. Gen. John W. Brennan, deputy commander, U.S. Africa Command met Nigerian officers upon arriving in Nigeria for talks. (U.S. Military Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth Tucceri)

The trouble is concentrated on combating Islamist extremist teams reminiscent of Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province, each of which have carried out assaults in northern Nigeria and the Lake Chad area.

The primary batch of troops represents the preliminary group of what's anticipated to be a roughly 200-person deployment of others, together with U.S. intelligence analysts, advisers and trainers.

The transfer follows current visits by senior U.S. Africa Command officers to Abuja to bolster military-to-military ties and increase counterterrorism cooperation.

DEADLY STRIKE ON US TROOPS TESTS TRUMP’S COUNTER-ISIS PLAN — AND HIS TRUST IN SYRIA’S NEW LEADER

Nigerian troopers man a checkpoint in Gwoza, Nigeria. (AP Picture/Lekan Oyekanmi)

On Feb. 8, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu met with a high-level U.S. delegation led by U.S. Africa Command commander Gen. Dagvin Anderson on the State Home in Abuja, in response to Nigeria’s presidency .

The assembly included senior officers from Nigeria’s navy, safety and intelligence companies and targeted on increasing intelligence sharing and operational coordination.

Monday's deployment got here as tensions between Washington and Abuja have eased following earlier friction over spiritual violence and civilian safety.

AMERICANS CAN’T CLOSE OUR EYES TO THE MURDER OF CHRISTIANS IN NIGERIA

Break up of President Donald Trump and President of Nigeria Bola Tinubu (Ton Molina/Getty Photographs; Charly Triballeau/AFP through Getty Photographs)

President Donald Trump had beforehand accused Nigeria of failing to protect Christians from what he described as a genocide, citing assaults by extremist teams and armed bandits.

Trump ordered airstrikes on Dec. 25 focusing on Islamic State militants and stated they had been accountable for killing Christians.

Africom carried out strikes in Sokoto State in northwest Nigeria focusing on what it described as Islamic State terrorists and stated they had been coordinated with Nigerian authorities .

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

"The US launched a strong and lethal strike in opposition to ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who've been focusing on and viciously killing, primarily, harmless Christians, at ranges not seen for a few years, and even Centuries!" Trump stated in a put up on Reality Social on the time.

Emma Bussey is a breaking information author for Fox Information Digital. Earlier than becoming a member of Fox, she labored at The Telegraph with the U.S. in a single day crew, throughout desks together with overseas, politics, information, sport and tradition.