Overview
- U.S. Navy Tomahawks and Reaper-launched precision munitions hit coordinated targets in Sokoto in an operation conducted with Nigerian authorities, officials said.
- AFRICOM and Nigerian officials reported multiple militants killed with no confirmed civilian casualties, with debris from expended munitions falling in Jabo and Offa.
- Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar said President Bola Tinubu authorized the action after consultations with Washington and emphasized the campaign targets terrorism, not a faith group.
- Security monitors say the strikes likely targeted Lakurawa, a jihadist faction in the northwest with links to ISIS and Sahel networks.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signaled “more to come,” as reactions split between Nigerian church groups that praised the strikes and critics who warned military action will not resolve underlying drivers of violence.