US PULLS TROOPS FROM NIGERIA AFTER COUNTERTERRORISM OPERATION

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The United States has sent most of its military people back from Nigeria, where they were working together on a mission to fight terrorism in the Lake Chad area.However, the US is still sharing intelligence and helping with security efforts with Nigerian officials.

General Dagvin R.M. Anderson, who leads the US Air Forces in Europe and Africa, shared this news during a virtual news meeting after a conference of military leaders in Africa.He said the US and Nigeria are still working closely, especially on gathering information to stop the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS or Daesh.

According to Anderson, the specific mission that required the deployment of US troops has been completed, prompting the withdrawal of most personnel. However, he noted that the United States would continue providing intelligence assistance at the request of the Nigerian government.

“And so that operation in the Lake Chad Basin of Nigeria not only helped the countries in that immediate region; it also helps countries globally as that disrupts the ISIS network,” Anderson said.

“And so — and then we have withdrawn much of our forces that were just there for that operation, but are continuing the partnership that Nigeria has asked for to help continue with the intelligence sharing and the understanding that’s necessary to be able to prosecute these difficult tasks,” he added.

The US Air Force commander described Nigeria as a key regional partner with a capable military, saying the collaboration between both nations had produced notable gains in the fight against ISIS.

He credited intelligence cooperation between the two countries for enabling an operation that eliminated the second-highest-ranking figure in the global ISIS network.

“I think the partnership that we’ve shown recently with Nigeria, where Nigeria’s a very capable and large country — it’s got a strong economy; it’s got a large, educated population; it’s got a very capable military.

“But there are things that we have learned in the counterterrorist fight over several years that we were able to assist and integrate with them to help them with their intelligence and help with the intelligence sharing that eventually led to a cooperative effort to where we were able to bring some unique capabilities that the U.S. brings and be able to prosecute together the number two leader within the ISIS or Daesh organization who is responsible for much of their global operations, their global media, and their recruiting”, he said.

Anderson said the operation underscored the effectiveness of intelligence collaboration over prolonged foreign troop deployments.

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