"A Defense Department official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss details not made public, said the U.S. worked with Nigeria to carry out the strikes and that they'd been approved by Abuja. Nigeria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the cooperation included exchange of intelligence and strategic coordination in ways "consistent with international law, mutual respect for sovereignty and shared commitments to regional and global security.""
"Nigeria is battling multiple armed groups, including at least two affiliated with IS, an offshoot of the Boko Haram extremist group known as the Islamic State West Africa Province in the northeast, and the less-known Lakurawa group prominent in the northwestern states, where the gangs use large swathes of forests as hideouts. Security analysts said the target of the U.S. strikes could be the Lakurawa group, which in the last year has increasingly become lethal in the region, often targeting remote communities and security forces."
U.S. airstrikes occurred in Sokoto state with operational approval from Nigeria, according to a Defense Department official. The cooperation involved intelligence sharing and strategic coordination framed as consistent with international law and respect for sovereignty, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The Associated Press could not independently verify strike effects. Nigeria confronts multiple armed groups, including IS-affiliated factions in the northeast and the Lakurawa group in the northwest, which use forested areas as hideouts and have grown more lethal, often targeting remote communities and security forces. The strikes were characterized as aimed at IS militants accused of targeting and killing primarily Christians.
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