Five United States military aircraft and the first batch of American troops have arrived in north-east Nigeria ahead of a joint offensive targeting ISWAP fighters in the region.
According to The New York Times, a US military aircraft landed in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, on Thursday night.
By Friday evening, three aircraft were sighted at the base, with equipment being offloaded from at least one of the planes.
Brant Philip, a counter-terrorism researcher, said the aircraft had touched down at air force bases across northern Nigeria in recent days.
On Tuesday, Reuters reported that the United States would deploy 200 troops to Nigeria to train the country’s military as it confronts insurgents operating across large swathes of its territory.
A US official said the incoming troops would reinforce a small number of American military personnel already in Nigeria.
The deployment follows a renewed security partnership between both countries after US President Donald Trump redesignated Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” over allegations of Christian genocide.
In a post on X, Philip disclosed that six US Air Force cargo planes were sent to West Africa in the past week as part of the security arrangement.
He said one aircraft stopped in Ghana, while five continued to Nigeria. A sixth aircraft reportedly arrived in Nigeria on Saturday and is expected to head towards the north-east.
Philip noted that one C-17A aircraft landed at Kainji Airbase, while three C-17A planes and one C-130J-30 aircraft flew to Maiduguri Airbase in Borno state.
He added that all the aircraft departed their respective bases on the same day they arrived.
“Maiduguri Airbase will likely be the primary base of operations for supporting the Nigerian army against ISWAP,” Philip said.
He described Maiduguri as strategic, noting that the IS-affiliated group currently controls most rural areas in Borno state.
Philip also said the deliveries could include at least one MQ-9 Reaper drone, attack helicopters, and a significant number of US troops.
Last week, Dagvin Anderson, commander of the US Africa Command (AFRICOM), visited Abuja.
He was received by President Bola Tinubu; Nuhu Ribadu, national security adviser; Christopher Musa, minister of defence; Olufemi Oluyede, chief of defence staff; Waidi Shaibu, chief of army staff; and other senior security officials.
Discussions focused on shared security priorities, particularly countering terrorist organisations threatening Nigeria, the United States, the wider region and global security.
Anderson said some US forces had already been deployed to Nigeria under an expanded bilateral agreement to combat terrorism and related threats, though he did not disclose their exact number.
He said the troops would concentrate primarily on intelligence gathering and operational support for Nigerian forces.
