photo from Channels Television
The United States has claimed that a recent joint counterterrorism operation in Nigeria killed 199 suspected terrorists and yielded the largest cache of enemy electronic intelligence materials recovered since the September 11, 2001, attacks.
The claim was made by Sebastian Gorka, the US Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council, during an interview with Marissa Streit, Chief Executive Officer of PragerU.
According to Gorka, the volume of electronic equipment and intelligence materials recovered during the operation was so extensive that US authorities deployed an additional aircraft to transport the seized devices for analysis.
He said the recovered materials are being examined by US intelligence agencies to better understand the communications, operational methods and networks of the Islamic State (ISIS), describing the intelligence haul as a major breakthrough in ongoing counterterrorism efforts.
Gorka characterized the operation as one of the most significant counterterrorism successes of the current US administration, saying it resulted in the deaths of 199 suspected jihadists in a single mission.
“I watched our operatives kill 199 jihadists in one operation,” Gorka said, adding that the electronic intelligence recovered from the raid was “three times bigger than any enemy electronics haul since 9/11.”
He said the intelligence gathered would help US experts identify how ISIS members communicate and coordinate operations, strengthening future counterterrorism capabilities.
Gorka also said the administration of President Donald Trump has eliminated more than 1,000 jihadists worldwide since taking office.
Explaining the US focus on Africa, he said extremist groups continue to exploit poorly governed regions across the continent to establish safe havens and rebuild their operational capabilities.
“Terrorists need ungoverned space,” Gorka said. “Africa has a lot of ungoverned space. That’s why I focus a lot of my attention on that region of the world where ISIS is trying to reconstitute a caliphate.”
The operation was conducted in collaboration with the Nigerian government as part of expanding security cooperation between Washington and Abuja.
The United States and Nigeria have significantly deepened their counterterrorism partnership since late 2025, focusing on intelligence sharing, military capacity building and coordinated operations against terrorist groups.
The enhanced collaboration followed high-level security discussions in Washington led by Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, which resulted in the establishment of the Nigeria-US Joint Working Group on Security.
President Bola Tinubu subsequently approved Nigeria’s delegation to the joint working group, comprising senior officials from the ministries of defence, foreign affairs, interior and humanitarian affairs, alongside the country’s top military and intelligence leadership.
The two countries have since conducted joint counterterrorism operations in northern Nigeria, while the United States has supplied military equipment to Nigerian security agencies to strengthen ongoing security operations.
As part of the bilateral engagement, Ribadu also met US Vice President J.D. Vance to discuss Nigeria’s security reforms and measures aimed at improving the country’s counterterrorism capabilities.
The expanded cooperation comes amid continued international attention on Nigeria’s security challenges and growing efforts by both governments to counter extremist violence across the region.
