The United States has withdrawn a large number of its troops from Nigeria following the May operation that eliminated Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, the second-in-command of ISIS in the Lake Chad Basin.
Dagvin Anderson, commander of United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), disclosed this on Thursday during a press briefing in Luanda after the 2026 African Chiefs of Defence Conference.
He said the US would, however, maintain its intelligence-sharing partnership with Nigeria.
Speaking on Africa’s security challenges and Washington’s approach to supporting allied nations without external interference, Anderson referenced the operation that led to Al-Minuki’s death.
“One quick example of not having external interference is I think the partnership that we’ve shown recently with Nigeria, where Nigeria’s a very capable and large country – it’s got a strong economy; it’s got a large, educated population; it’s got a very capable military,” Anderson said.
“But there are things that we have learned in the counterterrorist fight over several years that we were able to assist and integrate with them to help them with their intelligence and help with the intelligence sharing that eventually led to a cooperative effort to where we were able to bring some unique capabilities that the US brings and be able to prosecute together the number two leader within the ISIS or Daesh organisation who is responsible for much of the – their global operations, their global media, and their recruiting.”
He said the operation in the Lake Chad Basin disrupted ISIS activities not only within the region but also across its global network.
“And so, we have withdrawn much of our forces that were just there for that operation but are continuing the partnership that Nigeria has asked for to help continue with the intelligence sharing and the understanding that’s necessary to be able to prosecute these difficult tasks.”
Anderson added that the operation dealt a significant blow to ISIS leadership both in Nigeria and internationally.
He also noted that Nigeria has remained “very active” since the May offensive, intensifying efforts to dismantle terrorist networks and weaken their operational capabilities.