US Deploys 200 Troops and Drones to Aid Nigeria vs Militants

The United States has deployed approximately 200 troops and multiple MQ-9 Reaper drones to Nigeria to support training and intelligence efforts against Islamist militants in the country's north, U.S. and Nigerian officials confirmed this week. The personnel and aircraft are operating from an airfield in Bauchi state in the northeast, where they assist Nigerian forces battling groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province, or ISWAP.

Nigerian authorities requested the deployment to bolster their capabilities in detecting and disrupting terrorist activities. The U.S. troops are providing training and operating the drones for surveillance and reconnaissance, with officials from both nations emphasizing that the American personnel are in a strictly non-combat role and not integrated into frontline Nigerian units. The drones, capable of flying for more than 27 hours at high altitudes, are not conducting airstrikes but are focused on gathering intelligence to aid Nigerian-led operations.

"This support builds on the newly established U.S.-Nigeria intelligence fusion cell, which continues to deliver actionable intelligence to our field commanders," said Major...