The United States has resumed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) operations over Nigeria’s north-east, focusing on militant activity within the Sambisa Forest, following airstrikes carried out on ISIS-linked fighters in Sokoto State on Last Thursday night 25th December 2025.
The development was disclosed on Saturday by Sahel-focused terrorism tracker Brant Philip, who shared flight-tracking data indicating the presence of a US aircraft over Borno State. According to the data, the aircraft involved was a Gulfstream V — a long-range business jet frequently modified for ISR missions.
“The United States resumed ISR operations today on ISWAP in the Sambisa Forest, Borno State in northeast Nigeria, after a pause of one day following the strikes in Sokoto State,” Philip wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
He explained that Saturday’s operation specifically targeted the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), the ISIS affiliate that operates mainly in Nigeria’s north-east and across the Lake Chad Basin.
Flight-tracking information reviewed by multiple open-source analysts shows that the US began sustained ISR missions over Nigeria on November 24, with aircraft reportedly taking off from Ghana, which serves as a logistics hub for the American military network in West Africa. The same aircraft — linked to Tenax Aerospace, a US special-mission aviation company known to work closely with the American military — has reportedly flown over Nigerian territory almost daily since the mission began.
Sources familiar with the operation say the surveillance flights serve several purposes, including tracking an American pilot reportedly kidnapped in neighbouring Niger Republic, as well as gathering intelligence on militant groups operating within Nigeria.
The renewed US engagement comes just weeks after Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, met with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in Washington. The talks took place amid heightened diplomatic tension following threats by US President Donald Trump of possible military intervention in Nigeria.
After the meeting, Hegseth said the US Department of Defence would work “aggressively” with Nigeria to end what he described as the “persecution of Christians by jihadist terrorists.”
Thursday night’s airstrikes in north-west Nigeria, which reportedly targeted ISIS-linked militants, marked what President Trump earlier described as the “first fulfillment” of that commitment. In a message issued later, the US President warned that “more strikes would follow.”
The escalation signals a renewed phase of US military and intelligence involvement in Nigeria’s long-running fight against jihadist insurgency, particularly against ISWAP and other ISIS-affiliated groups operating across the region.
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