US Pulls Most Troops From Nigeria After Counterterrorism Operation

The United States has withdrawn most of the troops it deployed to Nigeria for a recent counterterrorism operation, while keeping intelligence-sharing arrangements with Nigerian authorities.

General Dagvin R.M. Anderson, commander of US Air Forces in Africa, said the Lake Chad Basin mission had been completed and that Washington had pulled back much of the force assigned specifically to that operation.

The development is a follow-up to earlier Nigeria-US counterterrorism cooperation covered here, after defence authorities said US personnel were involved in support roles rather than direct combat.

Premium Times reported that Anderson described the deployment as part of a mutual arrangement after a US strike against suspected ISIS fighters, while Vanguard said the partnership would continue through intelligence support requested by Nigeria.

Anderson said Nigeria remained a key regional partner and linked the cooperation to efforts to disrupt ISIS networks across the Lake Chad region.

Sources: Vanguard, Premium Times