President Donald Trump orderedairstrikeson what he described asIslamic Statetargets inNigeriain December and said there could be more US military action there.
The general said the US team was sent after both countries agreed that more needed to be done to combat the terrorist threat inWest Africa.
"That has led to increased collaboration between our nations to include a small US team that brings some unique capabilities from theUnited States," General Dagvin R.M. Anderson, head of the US military'sAfricaCommandAFRICOM, told journalists during a press briefing on Tuesday.
Anderson did not provide further details about the size and scope of their mission, but he said the move followed his meeting with Nigerias president, Bola Tinubu, in Rome late last year.
Nigeria's Defense Minister Christopher Musa confirmed that a team was working in the country but did not provide further details.
A former US official also said the US team appeared to be heavily involved in intelligence gathering and enablingNigerian forces to strike terrorist-affiliated groups.
It is not completely clear when the team exactly arrived in Nigeria.
Listen to Spotlight on Africa: US strikes in Nigeria
Pressure
Nigeriahas come under intense pressure by Washington to act after President Trump accused the West African nation of failing to protect Christians from Islamist militants operating in the northwest.
TheNigerian government denies any systematic persecution of Christians, saying it is targeting Islamist fighters and other armed groups that attack both Christian and Muslim civilians.
Boko Haramand Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters have intensified attacks on military convoys and civilians, and the northwest remains the epicentre of the 17-year Islamist insurgency.
The US militarys Africa Command said the strike was carried out in Sokoto state in coordination withNigerian authorities and killed multiple ISIS militants.
The strike came after Trump in late October began warning that Christianity faces an "existential threat" inNigeriaand threatened to militarily intervene in the West African country over what he says is its failure to stop violence targeting Christian communities.
But most analysts fear the US attacks in December have undermined Nigeria's sovereignty.
"I think it is a deeply troubling precedent," analystPrinceCharlesDicksontold RFIlast week. "For the first time since independence, a foreign power has carried out declared, unilateral combat strikes on Nigerian soil, and our government has essentially validated that as acceptable practice."
(with newswires)
Originally published on RFI
