U.S. Withdraws 200 Troops From Nigeria as Militants Keep Mounting Deadly Attacks
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 27
U.S. Withdraws 200 Troops From Nigeria as Militants Keep Mounting Deadly Attacks
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 27
Summary
About 200 U.S. troops sent to northeastern Nigeria in February are being pulled out, ending a mission the Pentagon had cast as a possible model for future Africa operations.
American and Nigerian officials say the small deployment helped deliver outsized results, including the killing of a senior Islamic State leader, by supporting local forces with target identification and shared intelligence.
Militants still remain far from defeated: gunmen recently killed more than two dozen people in northwestern Nigeria, at least 25 in a central village, and also mounted a large assault on a military base in the northeast.
The withdrawal comes while roughly 50,000 U.S. troops are engaged in the war against Iran, underscoring how limited the Nigeria mission was despite Trump-era pressure on Abuja over terrorist attacks.