The Defence Headquarters, DHQ, has clarified that the recent disclosure by the United States on the killing of 199 jihadists and the seizure of a large cache of ISIS weapons, ammunition and electronic equipment was not a new operation, but the declassification of details from a successful joint Nigeria-US counter-terrorism mission conducted in May 2026.
Director of Defence Information, Major General Samaila Uba, told Vanguard on Monday that the Nigerian military had already announced the operation, noting that the fresh details released by the US were previously classified information.
“This is not a new operation. We have previously communicated our highly successful joint operations in May. What you are hearing are some declassified information concerning our previous operation being given out now. However, Nigeria-US joint operations and collaboration are very much on course,” he said.
His clarification came after the US Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council, Dr. Sebastian Gorka, described the mission as one of the most successful counter-terrorism operations carried out by the current US administration.
Gorka said the operation produced the largest haul of enemy electronic equipment recovered since the September 11, 2001 attacks, noting that an additional aircraft was needed to transport the seized materials, which he said were three times more than any similar haul recovered since 9/11. He added that experts were now analysing the recovered devices to understand how ISIS operatives communicate.
He said the intelligence gathered would help dismantle ISIS networks, stressing that the US had adopted a more aggressive counter-terrorism posture in the region. He further noted that extremist groups continue to exploit ungoverned spaces across Africa to regroup and rebuild.
The renewed security cooperation between Nigeria and the US followed a high-level visit to Washington by National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu in November 2025, which led to the formation of a Joint Working Group on Security and subsequent joint operations against terrorist enclaves in the North-East.
Gorka maintained that sustained cooperation between both countries remained vital, citing Africa’s vast ungoverned territories as a key focus in countering ISIS’s attempts to reconstitute its caliphate.
READ ALSO:
- Oyebanji Visits Freed Ekiti Church Worshippers
- Aisha Buhari: Education, Human Capital Development Were Husband’s Lasting Legacy
- NDLEA Nabs 67-Year-Old UK-Based Grandma With 13kg Cocaine Hidden In Fake Plantains
- FCMB Records N177.3bn Profit, Shareholders Approve N23bn Dividend
- Tinubu Reaffirms Commitment to Religious Harmony, Says He Looks Forward to Hosting Pope Leo XIV
