By
John Vandive
Air Force Gen. Dagvin Anderson, leader of U.S. Africa Command, visits the Army War College in Carlisle, Pa., Dec. 11, 2025. Anderson said Feb. 3, 2026, that a team of U.S. military specialists has been installed in Nigeria to help that country in its battle against Islamic militants. (Elizabeth Bukowski/U.S. Army War College)
STUTTGART, Germany — A team of U.S. military specialists has been installed in Nigeria to help that country in its battle against Islamic militants, the top U.S. commander for Africa said Tuesday.
U.S. Africa Command’s Gen. Dagvin Anderson said the move came after recent talks in Rome with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who in late December greenlighted American airstrikes in the country that targeted Islamic militants.
Anderson, speaking during a virtual news conference from his AFRICOM headquarters in Stuttgart, said he and Tinubu concurred that both countries needed to coordinate their efforts in West Africa.
“That has led to increased collaboration between our nations to include a small U.S. team that brings some unique capabilities from the United States in order to augment what Nigeria has been doing for several years,” Anderson said. “And I think we’ve had some really good, positive movement there.”
Anderson did not elaborate on the composition of the U.S. team or what kinds of capabilities have been set up in Nigeria. However, the development comes at a time of increased concern about Islamic militants expanding their reach in Western Africa.
In the case of Nigeria, which has long struggled with insurgencies and disorder especially in its northern territory, the targeting of Christians by Islamic militants has gotten the attention of President Donald Trump.
“I have previously warned these terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was. The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing,” Trump said in a statement after the Christmas Day strikes.
Nigerian navy and police force personnel, alongside U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Army personnel conduct training in Lagos, Nigeria, Jan. 25, 2023. U.S. Africa Command’s Gen. Dagvin Anderson said Tuesday a team of U.S. military specialists has been installed in Nigeria to help the country in its battle against Islamic militants. (Cameron Edy/U.S. Navy)
The security situation in Nigeria, however, is complex. While Christians have been frequent targets of militants in the north, so have Muslims, according to security analysts. Groups such as Boko Haram alongside ISIS and al-Qaida affiliates have wreaked havoc in the country for years.
The broader region has also had AFRICOM’s attention long before the strikes in Nigeria. Neighboring Niger had served as a hub for the U.S. military in western Africa, but AFRICOM was forced to abandon its bases in 2024 following a coup one year earlier.
While Anderson did not address whether the loss of those military locations in Niger has hampered security efforts in the region, he said AFRICOM’s counterterrorism focus is centered on coordinating with an array of partners across the continent.
Anderson highlighted a counterterrorism campaign on the other side of Africa as an example of recent progress.
In Somalia, the Islamic State group has emerged as the second major terrorist organization operating in the country, where the al-Qaida-aligned al-Shabab has been a major force for two decades.
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Keith Smith observes Somali Danab soldiers conducting urban operations training in Nanyuki, Kenya, Feb. 28, 2024. AFRICOM’s top commander highlighted a counterterrorism campaign in Somalia as an example of progress on the African continent. (Leron Richards/U.S. Army)
ISIS-Somalia fighters holed up in a remote mountain range in northern Somalia have been a frequent target for AFRICOM airstrikes. The airstrike campaign, combined with surveillance and logistics support, has enabled AFRICOM’s Somali partners to carry out an offensive against the insurgents, Anderson said.
“It’s collapsed the area that ISIS has been able to operate in … (and is) quite literally keeping them and ISIS leadership underground,” Anderson added.
On Friday, AFRICOM launched its most recent strike against ISIS-Somalia.