After Christmas day strikes, US resumes surveillance flights over North-East

•Nigeria, America assess terrorist sites' destruction in Sokoto

Following the Christmas Day strikes on terrorists' sites in Sokoto State by the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), American and Nigerian military authorities are still assessing the extent of damage inflicted on locations believed to house the Lakurawa terror group.

US President, Donald Trump, described the operation as "perfect strikes."

Nigeria's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, said on Friday that the strikes, carried out amid diplomatic tensions after Trump accused Nigeria of failing to protect Christians, were "part of joint ongoing operations."

Similarly, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the strikes targeted two major ISIS camps within the Bauni Forest in Tangaza Local Government Area of Sokoto State. He explained that the precision strikes were launched from maritime platforms in the Gulf of Guinea after extensive intelligence gathering, planning, and reconnaissance.

"A total of 16 GPS-guided munitions were deployed using MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial platforms, successfully neutralising the targeted ISIS elements who entered Nigeria through the Sahel corridor," Idris said.

In an initial assessment on Saturday, Nigerian military sources told Sunday Vanguard that scores of terrorists were neutralised at the struck locations.

This happened on a day it was learnt that the US has restarted intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) over North-East Nigeria after the strikes in Sokoto.

The update was shared by Sahel terrorism analyst Brant Philip, who posted flight-tracking data on X last night.

The data showed a surveillance aircraft flying over Borno State.

The plane, identified as a modified Gulfstream V, is typically used for long-range missions that include surveillance and intelligence gathering.

According to Philip, the renewed activity is focused on the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), which operates around the North-East and the Lake Chad Basin.

He noted that ISR flights resumed over the Sambisa Forest after a one-day pause following the Sokoto strikes.

Full impact

According to sources, contrary to reports suggesting the Sokoto strikes hit only farmlands and recorded no casualties, those farmlands were not the intended targets but were used as disposable areas for expended payloads.

Security experts, however, cautioned that it was too early to determine the full impact of the operation.

"Only a preliminary assessment may be available, given that the incident took place about 48 hours ago," one expert said.

He explained that access to the bombed sites was limited because the areas were heavily mined by terrorists, adding that a clearer picture would emerge only after mine clearance operations. He also noted that satellite imagery assessments could be delayed until dust from the strikes had settled.

Another expert referenced previous US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, noting that it took several days to ascertain the full extent of the damage.

Decimated

One of the military sources said terrorists in Tangaza were "bombed and decimated in the true sense of the word."

"The camps were completely destroyed. Other areas were not targeted, as they served as safe zones for offloading expendable stores. This explains why there were no civilian or friendly casualties in Sokoto," the source said.

Another source described the operation as "very successful," adding that the objective was fully achieved.

"It was a successful joint operation with the US military. We provided the targets; they conducted the strikes. We are currently carrying out mop-up operations," he said.

The source disclosed that actionable intelligence had revealed a massive convergence of armed terrorists and bandits moving from Sahel corridors in Mali and Burkina Faso to Nigeria, with plans to launch coordinated attacks across Sokoto, Zamfara, Niger, and Katsina states.

The foreign-linked ISIS terror cells targeted included Lakurawa elements and Jenni groups, which intelligence reports said were mobilising fighters from Mali and Burkina Faso to carry out attacks during the Christmas and New Year festivities.

Information released by the Pentagon indicated that Tomahawk missiles were launched from international sea corridors near Ghana as part of a coordinated strike package against the identified terrorist locations.

Reports also said the US military deployed long-range unmanned aerial systems alongside naval strike assets to enhance precision and minimise collateral damage.

Responding to concerns about civilian casualties, a source said: "This was a carefully planned and highly selective operation. Surveillance architecture was fully in place to prevent mishaps.

"This ensured that only confirmed terrorist combatants and logistics hubs were engaged and destroyed."

Delay

In a related development, Trump revealed that the strikes were originally scheduled for Wednesday but were delayed by a day on his directive.

"They were going to do it earlier," Trump told Politico. "And I said, 'Nope, let's give a Christmas present.' They didn't think that was coming, but we hit them hard. Every camp got decimated."

Recall that Trump had disclosed on Thursday that he ordered US forces to conduct "numerous" deadly strikes against Islamic State terrorists in north-western Nigeria, warning that more attacks would follow if the killing of Christians continued.

Posting on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the strikes were executed at his direction as Commander-in-Chief.

"The Department of Defence executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing," he wrote, adding that his administration would not allow radical Islamic terrorism to prosper.

US Secretary of Defence, Pete Hegseth, also confirmed the operation in a post on X, expressing gratitude for Nigeria's cooperation.

"The President was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria must end. ISIS found out on Christmas," Hegseth wrote.

The US Africa Command, in a separate statement on X, confirmed that multiple ISIS terrorists were killed during the operation.

"At the direction of the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense, and in coordination with Nigerian authorities, US Africa Command conducted strikes against ISIS terrorists in Sokoto State on December 25, 2025," the statement said.

Culled from Vanguard