The United States has warned that parts of Africa are experiencing a renewed extremist threat as remnants of the Islamic State (ISIS) regroup across the continent following the group’s defeat in Iraq and Syria.
ISIS was officially declared defeated by the governments of Syria and Iraq in 2017 after years of military campaigns supported by the United States and allied forces.
However, by late 2014, militant cells claiming affiliation with ISIS had already emerged across several conflict zones in Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia.
In a newly released counterterrorism strategy document, the US said the extremist group had fragmented and relocated to regions with weak governance and security structures, particularly in Africa and parts of Central Asia.
“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,” the document stated.
The report highlighted the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin — including parts of northern Nigeria — where ISIS-linked factions such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) continue to operate, control territory, and launch attacks against military and civilian targets.
According to the strategy paper, the US now has two major objectives in Africa that differ from what it described as past “nation-building and interventionist policies.”
“In Africa, we have two clear goals that depart from the nation-building and interventionist policies of the past. The first is to guarantee that none of the Jihadi groups can build a base of operations that allows them to plot and execute attacks against the United States and American interests around the world,” the document reads.
“The second is to protect Christians, who have been slaughtered at the hands of these Jihadi groups.”
Some US lawmakers and advocacy groups have previously accused Nigerian authorities of not doing enough to address extremist violence affecting Christian communities.
However, the administration of President Bola Tinubu has repeatedly maintained that Nigeria’s security crisis transcends ethnic or religious divisions.
The US also referenced President Donald Trump’s decision to authorise air strikes against Islamist militants on Christmas Day, saying the operation signalled that attacks on Christian communities would not be ignored.
Nigeria reportedly approved the operation.
Despite plans to reduce its broader global military presence, the US said it would continue pursuing extremist groups in Africa capable of threatening American interests abroad.
The strategy document added that Washington is rebuilding bilateral counterterrorism partnerships with African governments and will continue supporting countries threatened by ISIS and al-Qaeda-linked groups through intelligence sharing and counterterrorism assistance.
“Wherever possible, we will marry such CT cooperation with the stabilizing effect of heightened trade and commercial relations, as witnessed by President Trump’s historic peace deal between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo – an example of how security is a prerequisite for prosperity,” the US stated.
The US further described Africa as a continent with “almost limitless potential,” while stressing that sustainable progress depends on governments maintaining sovereign control over their territories and preventing extremist groups from exploiting ungoverned spaces.
The document also noted that regional partners would be expected to assume a greater share of the counterterrorism responsibility moving forward.
