US working with Nigeria to fight IS

THE US military is increasing materiel deliveries and intelligence sharing with Nigeria, Africom’s deputy commander said, as part of a broader American push to work with African militaries to go after Islamic State-linked militants.

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US ARMY Lieutenant General John Brennan, deputy commander of US Africa Command since April 2024, arrives for a media briefing in Abuja at the weekend. The US military is increasing material deliveries and intelligence sharing with Nigeria as part of a broader American push to work with African militaries to go after Islamic State (IS)-linked militants. AFP

(AFP)

The Pentagon has also kept open lines of communication with militaries in the junta-led Sahel countries of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali, Lieutenant General John Brennan said.

The increased cooperation with Abuja follows Washington's diplomatic pressure on Nigeria over jihadist violence in the country, but also as the US military is becoming “more aggressive” in pursuing IS-linked targets on the continent.