The United States Withdraws Its Forces from Nigeria Following an Operation Targeting the Islamic State’s Second-in-Command

3rd July 2026

2 minutes read

The United States Withdraws Its Forces from Nigeria Following an Operation Targeting the Islamic State's Second-in-Command

The United States has announced that it has withdrawn the forces it recently deployed to Nigeria as part of an operation targeting the second-in-command of the Islamic State (IS) group.

The commander of the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) said that the United States had withdrawn most of the troops deployed for an operation against Islamic State militants in Nigeria. Washington is now continuing to provide intelligence support at the request of Abuja.

In May, U.S. and Nigerian forces carried out military operations in northeastern Nigeria that resulted in the death of Abu Bilal Al-Minouki, whom both the U.S. and Nigerian governments described as the Islamic State’s second-in-command globally. The operation followed a U.S. strike conducted on Christmas Day against militants under orders from President Donald Trump, who stated that they had been targeting Christians in the African country.

Speaking on Thursday at a conference of African defense officials held in Angola, AFRICOM Commander General Dagvin Anderson described the joint U.S.-Nigerian operations conducted in May as a model for future security cooperation across Africa.

Speaking to reporters during a briefing organized by the U.S. Department of State after the conference, Anderson said: “We have withdrawn most of our forces that were deployed solely for that operation. However, we continue the partnership requested by Nigeria to support ongoing intelligence sharing.”

Anderson noted that the operation, carried out in Nigeria’s Lake Chad Basin region, demonstrated Washington’s approach of providing specialized capabilities while allowing African partners to lead security operations.

He added that cooperation with Nigeria had significantly weakened the leadership of the Islamic State, emphasizing that the impact extended beyond West Africa because of the terrorist organization’s international network.

The three-day conference, held in Luanda, the capital of Angola, brought together military leaders from 35 African countries, along with representatives from the United States and Brazil.