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The United States has deployed aggregate MQ-9 drones and astir 200 troops to Nigeria to enactment the combat against Islamist militants, according to US and Nigerian officials who spoke to Reuters.
US offcials said the troops are not embedded with Nigerian frontline units, portion the drones are focused solely connected quality gathering and are not conducting airstrikes.
The US subject antecedently operated a $100 cardinal drone basal successful neighboring Niger Republic, with astir 1,000 troops tracking militant enactment crossed the Sahel.
However, the installation was unopen down successful 2024 aft Niger’s subject authorities ordered US forces to leave.
A US defence authoritative said the drones were deployed alongside troops astatine Nigeria’s request, chiefly to enactment intelligence-gathering efforts.
“We spot this arsenic a shared information threat,” the authoritative told Reuters.
Major General Samaila Uba, Director of Defence Information astatine Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters, confirmed that US assets are being operated from the Bauchi airfield successful the North-East.
“This enactment builds connected the recently established US-Nigeria quality fusion cell, which continues to present actionable quality to our field commanders,” he told Reuters.
“Our US partners stay successful a strictly non-combat role, enabling operations led by Nigerian authorities.”
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