The United States has withdrawn most of its military personnel deployed for a joint counterterrorism operation in Nigeria's Lake Chad Basin, marking the end of the mission while reaffirming its commitment to continued intelligence sharing and security cooperation with the Nigerian government.

The Commander of the US Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa, Dagvin R. M. Anderson, disclosed the development on Thursday during a press briefing on the outcome of the African Chiefs of Defence Conference 2026.

According to Anderson, the operation significantly disrupted the activities of the Islamic State (ISIS/Daesh) in the Lake Chad Basin, strengthening security not only within the region but also globally.

He explained that although the operation has concluded and most US troops assigned to the mission have departed Nigeria, the security partnership between both countries remains intact through intelligence cooperation requested by the Nigerian government.

"That operation in the Lake Chad Basin of Nigeria not only helped the countries in that immediate region; it also helped countries globally as it disrupted the ISIS network," Anderson said.

He added that while the military deployment has ended, the United States will continue supporting Nigeria by providing intelligence and strategic cooperation needed to tackle ongoing security threats.

"We have withdrawn much of our forces that were just there for that operation, but are continuing the partnership that Nigeria has asked for to help continue with the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.

Anderson described Nigeria as a capable security partner with a strong military, noting that the collaboration between both countries has yielded significant successes in the fight against ISIS.

He further revealed that intelligence supplied by the United States, combined with operations by the Nigerian Armed Forces, contributed to the elimination of the second-in-command of the global ISIS network, describing it as a testament to the effectiveness of the bilateral security partnership.

Despite the withdrawal of US troops, the United States reiterated its commitment to supporting Nigeria's counterterrorism efforts through intelligence sharing and other forms of strategic security cooperation.