According to a report by the American newspaper The New York Times on August 27, the U.S. Department of Defense plans to withdraw about 200 U.S. military soldiers from Nigeria by late September. After this withdrawal, it is expected that a small number of U.S. military instructors and intelligence analysts will still remain in Nigeria.
In February this year, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Nigeria of “failing to protect Christians from terrorist attacks.” As a result, the U.S. military was deployed to northeastern Nigeria to combat extremist groups such as ISIS. Officials from both the U.S. and Nigeria said that the number of U.S. troops deployed was not large, but they achieved “significant results,” including the killing of a senior leader of ISIS.
In May, the US military and the Nigerian army carried out a joint operation, killing Abu-Bilal Minukhi, the leader of ISIS. US military officials stated that recently, the US military has launched a series of air strikes and ground raids in Nigeria, resulting in the killing of over 200 militants.
The Nigerian military refused to comment on the matter of the US military withdrawal. US military officials revealed that after the US troops withdrew in September, only a small number of military instructors and intelligence analysts will remain in Nigeria.
However, The New York Times pointed out that the effectiveness of the U.S. military's actions was limited, and militants continue to carry out major attacks throughout Nigeria. Recently, an attack occurred in northwestern Nigeria, resulting in the death of more than 20 people, including an imam; a village in central Nigeria also suffered an attack, with at least 25 people killed. Last week, a military base in northeastern Nigeria was also attacked by militants.
