U.S. Sends Drones and Troops to Nigeria to Counter Rising Boko Haram Fears

(SeaPRwire) –   A U.S. defense official told The Associated Press that the U.S. military has dispatched MQ-9 Reaper drones to Nigeria, amid growing fears of a renewed insurgency by the terrorist group Boko Haram. 

The drones were deployed after 200 U.S. troops arrived in Nigeria last month to provide training and intelligence support. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is facing a complex security crisis, particularly in its northern regions. 

A spokesperson for AFRICOM (U.S. Africa Command) told the AP that U.S. troops “are working with their Nigerian counterparts to deliver intelligence support, advisory assistance, and targeted training for the Nigerian Armed Forces.” 

Among the most prominent Islamic militant groups active in Nigeria are Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, which is affiliated with the Islamic State and known as Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).  

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There is also the ISIS-linked Lakurawa, along with other “bandit” groups that specialize in kidnapping for ransom and illegal mining. 

The U.S. troops and MQ-9 drones are based at Bauchi Airfield, a newly built airport in northeastern Nigeria, the spokesperson told the AP. The number of drones deployed remains unclear. 

The deployment is part of a new security partnership agreed on after President Donald Trump sounded the alarm about Christians being slaughtered in Nigeria’s security crisis. 

The U.S. carried out strikes against IS forces on Dec. 26—the day after Christmas. 

Earlier this month, three suspected suicide bombings in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State in northeastern Nigeria, killed at least 23 people and wounded 108 others. No group claimed responsibility, but suspicion quickly fell on Boko Haram, which launched an insurgency in northeastern Nigeria in 2009 to enforce Sharia law. 

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MQ-9 drones cost approximately $30 million each and have separate land and sea models. They can also be used for airstrikes, but AFRICOM says they will only be used in Nigeria for intelligence-gathering and training. 

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence states that Boko Haram aims to “overthrow the current Nigerian Government and replace it with a regime based on Islamic law.” 

“In November 2013, the U.S. State Department designated Boko Haram a Foreign Terrorist Organization,” it added.