Top military sources have confirmed that recent U.S. Navy precision strikes against terrorist targets in North West Nigeria, conducted in close coordination with the Nigerian Armed Forces, were “highly successful” and achieved their objectives.

“It was a successful joint operation with the U.S. military. We provided the targets, they conducted the strikes. Right now we are mopping up,” another online news media, Vanguard Newspaper, claimed its senior military sources told it.

According to Nigerian security officials, actionable intelligence prior to the operation indicated a massive convergence of armed terrorists and bandits entering Nigeria from the Sahel corridors of Mali and Burkina Faso.

The groups were reportedly planning coordinated attacks on communities in Sokoto, Zamfara, Niger, and Katsina states.

The foreign‑linked ISIS terror cells targeted in the strikes included the Lakurawa and Jenni groups, which intelligence confirmed had mobilised fighters from Mali and Burkina Faso to carry out attacks during the Christmas and New Year festivities.

Pentagon Confirmation

Information released by the Pentagon indicated that at least one Tomahawk missile was launched from a U.S. naval platform operating in international sea corridors near Ghana as part of the coordinated strike package.

In addition, advanced long‑range unmanned aerial systems (drones) were deployed to support precision targeting and minimise collateral damage.

When asked about the risk of civilian casualties, Nigerian military sources emphasised that the operation was “carefully planned and highly selective,” with surveillance architecture in place to ensure that only confirmed terrorist combatants and their logistics hubs were engaged and neutralised.

The operation underscores the deepening collaboration between Nigerian and international forces in countering transnational terrorism and preventing coordinated attacks against vulnerable communities in North West Nigeria.

Nigeria has faced persistent threats from groups such as Boko Haram and ISWAP, whose insurgency has destabilised large parts of the north‑east and north‑west.

For more on Nigeria’s counter‑terrorism efforts, see Nigeria’s Ministry of Defence and US Africa Command.