United States forces, working in close coordination with the Nigerian government, have carried out precision air strikes on two major Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist enclaves in Sokoto State, targeting foreign fighters infiltrating Nigeria from the Sahel region.
The strikes focused on camps located within the Bauni forest axis of Tangaza Local Government Area, which intelligence reports identified as key assembly and staging grounds for foreign ISIS elements collaborating with local affiliates to plan and launch large-scale attacks inside Nigeria.
The operation was conducted in the early hours of Friday, December 26, 2025, between 12:12 a.m. and 1:30 a.m., following explicit approval by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Nigerian authorities said the targets were selected after extensive intelligence gathering confirmed their use by transnational extremist fighters seeking to penetrate Nigeria through the Sahel corridor.
According to the Federal Government, the US strikes deployed 16 GPS-guided precision munitions fired from MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial platforms launched from maritime platforms in the Gulf of Guinea. The strikes successfully neutralised the targeted ISIS enclaves, significantly degrading the group’s cross-border operational capacity.
The Nigerian government said the operation was executed under established command-and-control frameworks, with the full involvement of the Armed Forces of Nigeria and under the supervision of the Ministers of Defence and Foreign Affairs, as well as the Chief of Defence Staff.
During the strikes, debris from expended munitions reportedly fell in Jabo, Tambuwal Local Government Area of Sokoto State, and in Offa, Kwara State, near a hotel. Authorities confirmed that no civilian casualties were recorded and that security agencies promptly secured the affected areas.
Reaffirming its stance against terrorism, the Federal Government said it remains determined to confront and eliminate terrorist threats, particularly those posed by foreign-backed extremist networks operating across borders.
The government assured Nigerians that the national security architecture remains firmly under control and urged citizens to remain calm and vigilant as coordinated actions continue against all terrorist groups threatening the country.