Pat Stevens/
The United States has resumed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) operations over Nigeria’s north–east less than 48 hours after coordinated air strikes targeted Islamic State (ISIS)-linked militants in Sokoto State.
According to flight-tracking data shared on social media by terrorism analyst, Brant Philip, a Gulfstream V aircraft, routinely converted for ISR missions, was observed over Borno State on Saturday.
Philip said the flights were concentrated on monitoring the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), the Nigerian affiliate of ISIS which remains active in the north-east and along the Lake Chad basin.
The surveillance flights resumed a day after the United States and Nigerian forces carried out precision air strikes in the Bauni forest area of Tangaza Local Government Area, Sokoto State, in the early hours of Friday.
Nigeria’s Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said 16 GPS-guided munitions were deployed from MQ-9 Reaper drones against two ISIS-associated enclaves used by foreign fighters and their local affiliates attempting to infiltrate the country from the Sahel.
Federal government statements stressed that the operation was approved by President Bola Tinubu and executed with full involvement of the Nigerian Armed Forces under established command structures, with authorities insisting there were no civilian casualties.
Debris from expended munitions was reported in Jabo in Sokoto and near a hotel in Offa, Kwara State, but officials said security agencies had secured the areas and were monitoring the situation.
The Sokoto State Government has affirmed that it welcomed the counter-terrorism action, while analysts note the strikes underscore an intensification of security cooperation between Abuja and Washington amid growing concerns over transnational extremist threats in West Africa.
The renewed ISR operations over the Sambisa Forest region come amid ongoing efforts to track and degrade ISWAP’s capabilities, with the United States reportedly using Ghana as a logistical hub for its intelligence flights.
The continued aerial surveillance reflects broader strategic collaboration, even as some critics question the choice of targets and the scope of foreign involvement in Nigeria’s internal security operations.
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