The United States has identified Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin as critical fronts in its 2026 counterterrorism strategy, warning that extremist groups operating across Africa remain a growing threat to global security.
In the strategy document, the US government said parts of Africa, including West Africa, the Sahel region, the Lake Chad Basin, Mozambique, Sudan and Somalia, have witnessed a resurgence of terrorist activities following the collapse of ISIS strongholds in Iraq and Syria.
The document noted that remnants of the Islamic State and affiliated jihadist groups had relocated to Africa and Central Asia, exploiting ungoverned spaces and weak security structures.
“President Trump unleashed the greatest fighting force the world has ever seen, and within a matter of weeks, a Jihadi insurgency which controlled vast territories across Iraq and Syria was gone.
“Subsequently, the surviving remnants of the world’s most dangerous terrorist group of the modern age were forced to relocate to Africa and Central Asia, in turn exploiting the ungoverned spaces there.
“As a result, today, there are parts of Africa where a resurgent terror threat is the reality. These include in West Africa, the Sahel region, the Lake Chad Basin, Mozambique, Sudan, and of course Somalia, where parts of ISIS have re-established themselves and Al Shabaab maintains its tribal-based Islamist insurgency,” it read.
The US said its major objective in Africa would be to prevent extremist groups from establishing operational bases capable of launching attacks against American interests.
“We will continue to work together with governments threatened by groups like ISIS and al Qaeda affiliates who threaten us as well, and assist them with actionable intelligence and CT partner-force development until our shared foes no longer pose a serious threat to either them or us,” it added.
The document also declared that the protection of Christians targeted by terrorist groups would remain a key priority of the administration.
According to the strategy, Washington would continue rebuilding bilateral counterterrorism relations with African governments while reducing direct military deployments on the continent.
“We will continue to work together with governments threatened by groups like ISIS and al Qaeda affiliates who threaten us as well, and assist them with actionable intelligence and CT partner-force development,” the document stated.
The strategy criticised previous US foreign policies under former President Joe Biden, claiming they weakened counterterrorism efforts and allowed extremist organisations to regroup across Africa.
Referencing Nigeria specifically, the document praised recent actions taken by President Donald Trump over attacks on Christians in the country.
“With the decisive action President Trump recently took in Nigeria, he made it clear that the slaughter of Christians will not go unchecked,” the document stated.
It quoted Trump as saying on Christmas Day in 2025, “I have previously warned these terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was.”
The US also said it would maintain a “light military footprint” in Africa while expecting regional partners to shoulder more of the counterterrorism burden through intelligence sharing and coordinated operations.
According to the strategy, African nations possess “almost limitless potential” if governments are able to exercise effective territorial control and deny safe havens to terrorist organisations and violent extremist groups.
