The United States has resumed intelligence and surveillance operations in Nigeria, days after carrying out air strikes against ISIS targets in Sokoto State.
Data shared on Saturday by Brant Philip, a terrorism tracker focused on the Sahel region, showed a surveillance aircraft operating over parts of Borno State, particularly around the Sambisa forest.
The aircraft, identified as a Gulfstream V, is a long-range jet commonly adapted for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, according to flight tracking information.
Philip said the renewed operation was aimed at monitoring the Islamic State West Africa Province, the ISIS affiliate operating mainly in the North-East and the Lake Chad basin.
“The United States resumed ISR operations today on ISWAP in the Sambisa forest, Borno state in northeast Nigeria, after a pause of one day following the strikes in Sokoto state,” he wrote on X.
Flight data indicated that the surveillance mission began on November 24, with the aircraft departing from Ghana, a known hub for US military logistics in Africa, and flying over Nigeria almost daily since then.
Records linked the aircraft’s operator to Tenax Aerospace, a special mission aviation company that works closely with the US military, while earlier briefings suggested the operation also involved tracking a kidnapped American pilot and gathering intelligence on militant groups in Nigeria.
The renewed surveillance comes shortly after Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, met US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in Washington, following which President Donald Trump signalled tougher military action, a move that culminated in Thursday’s air strikes, with assurances that more could follow.
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