Nigeria says joint strikes with the US have killed 175 Islamic State group fighters

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — A joint operation by the United States and Nigeria against Islamic State group fighters has killed 175 over the past few days, Nigeria’s military said Tuesday, while the head of the U.S. Africa Command said it showed the capabilities its forces could bring in Africa, home to the “epicenter of global terrorism.”

The U.S. sent troops to Nigeria in February in what was deemed a mostly advisory and training role, but the joint operation signals more active involvement. The U.S. Africa Command, or AFRICOM, confirmed the joint operation, saying no U.S. or Nigerian troops were harmed.

The gains against IS militants followed the killing last week of the deputy of the group’s West Africa chapter, Abu Bakr al-Mainuki, the first successful targeting of a senior militant in more than a decade of insurgency in Nigeria.

Nigeria’s military on Tuesday reported the killing of another senior leader, Abd-al Wahhab, who it said was responsible for coordinating finance and attack planning and logistics.

Nigerian military spokesperson Samaila Uba said the strikes also destroyed weapons, checkpoints and financial networks of the militants across the country’s northeast.

Militant groups like Boko Haram and its IS splinter group operate across vast areas in addition to numerous criminal groups specializing in kidnapping for ransom, generally called “bandits.” The crisis has killed thousands of people, according to the United Nations.

U.S. Air Force Gen. Dagvin Anderson, who oversees AFRICOM, told a congressional hearing on Tuesday that Nigeria played a pivotal role in the weekend operations.

“The Nigerians have been instrumental throughout the last several months, developing the target, helping us with the intelligence and providing support in order to do that,” Anderson said. “So it could not have been done by our own forces.”

The Islamic State group has been pivoting to Africa after setbacks in the Middle East, with West Africa becoming a major site of operation, according to the crisis monitoring group Armed Conflict Location and Event Data.

The “epicenter of global terrorism is in Africa,” Anderson said, adding that the operations with Nigeria underscore the relationships that U.S. forces are building on the continent to protect American security interests.

“We cannot operate there and respond to these crises or these threats without the access, basing and overflight that is dependent upon the relationships with these partners,” Anderson said. “So we are investing a significant amount of effort in order to build those relationships and build that credibility.”

Asked about the biggest challenges to that effort, Anderson replied that “the biggest concern I have is the growing black hole of intelligence in the Sahel” because of the withdrawal of French and other partners and the U.S. withdrawal from Niger.

The military governments of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have turned to Russia as a security partner instead.

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Finley reported from Washington.