File photo: A Nigerian soldier loads his machine gun during training at the Multinational Joint Task Force military base, Sector 3 Headquarters, in Monguno, Borno state, Nigeria. AFP
In May, US and Nigerian forces in the Lake Chad region of Nigeria killed nearly 200 Islamic State fighters, including the jihadist group's global second-in-command.
"We have withdrawn much of our forces that were just there for that operation," US Africa Command's General Dagvin Anderson told a media briefing on Thursday from the Angolan capital, Luanda.
"But (we) 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 said.
Nigerian Defence Minister Christopher Musa told AFP in an interview on Thursday that US combat troops had deployed to Nigeria specifically for the May operation.
That group was separate from the roughly 200 non-combat troops deployed to Nigeria earlier this year for broader training and technical assistance.
"They came in, did that, did their work, and took off," Musa said.
AFP has contacted US Africa Command to clarify if any of the troops in the broader training role have also pulled out.
Anderson said that following the May operation the Nigerian military "has been very active".
"They continue to prosecute targets themselves" resulting in "more defections or surrenders of ISIS followers in that northeastern area of Nigeria. So that's a combined effort that continues to build," said Anderson.
Northeast Nigeria has been gripped by an Islamist extremist insurgency since 2009, first by Boko Haram, then its offshoot and rival, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
The groups have since last year stepped up reported attacks on villages, police stations and workers such as loggers and fishermen, as well as military bases, killing several senior army officers.
The upsurge in attacks prompted President Bola Tinubu to declare a nationwide state of emergency in 2025 and US President Donald Trump to threaten Nigeria with military intervention.
Short link: