{"id":2606834,"date":"2026-05-26T07:48:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T11:48:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/after-years-on-the-back-foot-isis-on-the-march-in-nigeria\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T07:52:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T11:52:04","slug":"after-years-on-the-back-foot-isis-on-the-march-in-nigeria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/after-years-on-the-back-foot-isis-on-the-march-in-nigeria\/","title":{"rendered":"After years on the back foot, ISIS &#8216;on the march&#8217; in Nigeria"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fafter-years-on-the-back-foot-isis-on-the-march-in-nigeria%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2606834&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Northern Nigeria\u2019s insurgency is increasingly driven by ISIS-especially its local affiliate, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP)-and the conflict has expanded despite years of Nigerian government counterterrorism efforts and international involvement. After being largely contained in the early 2020s, ISWAP has regained momentum over the past one to two years by changing tactics: concentrating larger forces for major assaults, striking at night, and using drones. The group\u2019s \u201cCamp Holocaust\u201d campaign, including overrunning major military facilities and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-twitter-files-reveal-dnc-flagged-coverage-of-hunter-bidens-laptop-to-twitter-for-censorship\/\" title=\"DNC flagged Hunter Biden&#039;s laptop coverage for Twitter censorship, new files show.\">high-profile escalations<\/a> such as the killing of Brigadier General Oseni Braimah, reflects a growing boldness toward confronting Nigeria\u2019s security forces directly.<\/p>\n<p>A key factor behind the shift is how ISWAP adapted to the Nigerian military\u2019s \u201cSuper Camp\u201d approach, which reduced vulnerable small outposts by consolidating troops into fortified camps. The insurgency has also been shaped by internal jihadist rivalries. Boko Haram\u2019s pledge to ISIS in 2015 was followed by a split in the next year,driven by disagreements over harsh rules for who counts as an enemy,with ISWAP taking a more \u201cdiplomatic\u201d approach-targeting collaborators and militias while sometiems maintaining arrangements with ordinary Muslims.<\/p>\n<p>Nigeria\u2019s counterinsurgency challenges are compounded by overstretch and cross-border instability. Regional disruptions-such as instability in neighboring countries and the withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger from ECOWAS-have enabled jihadists to strike from unstable areas and then retreat. Both experts quoted argue that even capable militaries can\u2019t end insurgencies through combat alone; long-term solutions require sustained presence, local ties, and disrupting insurgents\u2019 support networks.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. role has been less visible than in other African theaters like Somalia,but recent priorities-particularly preventing attacks on the U.S. and protecting Christians-have increased attention to ISWAP and related atrocities. U.S. support has mainly taken the form of drone strikes, training\/advising, and intelligence sharing, which officials say can be helpful but unlikely to be decisive on its own, since the problem is ultimately not solvable by military action alone.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Northern <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nigeria\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"2834\">Nigeria<\/a> is facing an ascendant <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/isis\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"108\">ISIS<\/a> insurgency, drawing Washington into the fray.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since the jihadist insurgency in northern Nigeria began 13 years ago, the conflict has drastically changed in scope, amid concerted counterterrorism efforts from the Nigerian government, countless jihadist ideological splits, and international interventions. The 2020s began with ISIS and other <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/terrorism\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"103\">terrorist groups<\/a> on the back foot, but a change in tactics and fortunes has sent them back on the offensive in the last couple of years, turning the country into one of the foremost fronts in the Global War on Terror.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4581484\/yair-lapid-israel-opposition-us-iran-peace-deal-denounce\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid denounces emerging US-Iran peace deal<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4581376\/israel-hezbollah-lebanon-iran-ceasefire\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Israel intensifies strikes on Hezbollah as US-Iran diplomacy may force Lebanon ceasefire<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4581180\/pope-leo-artificial-intelligence-regulation-encyclical\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Pope Leo urges significant regulation to disarm AI<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alexander Palmer, a fellow in the Warfare, Irregular Threats, and Terrorism Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that ISIS in Nigeria is \u201con the march, they are increasingly active, and they\u2019re increasingly threatening military targets,\u201d with a large-scale military campaign ISIS calls \u201cCamp Holocaust.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<h2 id=\"h-why-has-isis-seen-a-change-in-fortune-after-years-on-the-back-foot\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why has ISIS seen a change in fortune after years on the back foot?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The insurgency in northern Nigeria is notable for the frequency and scale of <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >ideological disputes triggering violent internal conflicts<\/a>. Over the past few years, northern Nigeria\u2019s main ISIS affiliate, Islamic State West Africa Province, has emerged as the primary jihadist threat.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ISWAP has had varied success since splitting from Boko Haram in 2016, but the Nigerian military has been able to largely contain the threat in the first half of the 2020s. Liam Karr, an analyst for the American Enterprise Institute\u2019s Critical Threats Project, explained that the Nigerian military had been able to degrade ISWAP through its \u201cSuper Camp\u201d strategy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The strategy had Nigerian forces reduce their number of vulnerable small forward operating bases, instead consolidating their strength into fortified camps, effectively garrison towns, which were much more difficult to attack and overrun. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While it is difficult to specify a timeline due to the disjointed nature of the fighting, Karr and Palmer both agreed that ISWAP underwent a major change in tactics over the past one or two years that has given it momentum, as seen in the success of its \u201cCamp Holocaust\u201d campaign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere\u2019s been clear, clear escalation this year and last year with the overrunning of some of these larger <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/military\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"266\">military<\/a> facilities,\u201d Palmer said, and pointed to the killing of Nigerian Brigadier General Oseni Braimah in April as a particularly major escalation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat\u2019s a significant development, that\u2019s pretty unusual, and that reflects the growing boldness and growing strength of ISWAP and their confidence in directly confronting the state\u2019s military forces, which are widely considered to be some of the most capable forces in Africa,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ISWAP has adapted to the Nigerian military\u2019s \u201cSuper Camp\u201d strategy by gathering larger forces for single attacks, launching strikes at night, and using new drones, Karr explained. Taking advantage of ISIS\u2019s networks, ISWAP has invited ISIS trainers from the Middle East to train its fighters in drone tactics, United Nations reports suggest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s just a pretty typical pattern of battlefield evolution, where the Nigerian Army came up with this new strategy that worked for a while, eventually the insurgents figured out a way around that, which again just speaks to why there aren\u2019t military solutions to these,\u201d Karr said. \u201cYou can get better at the military stuff, but eventually the insurgents will figure out a way to adapt to that.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-sibling-rivalry\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sibling rivalry<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The jihadist insurgency in Nigeria took on a global component in 2015 when the main jihadist group Boko Haram\u2019s leader, Abubakar Shekau, pledged allegiance to ISIS. Remarkably, the following year, the two organizations fell out, as Shekau\u2019s approach was considered too radical even for ISIS.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The main contention was Boko Haram\u2019s ultra-takfirism, holding that anyone not actively trying to join the group was an enemy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt basically means that Boko Haram\u2019s view is anybody who is not actively joining us is an enemy, which is why they\u2019ll slaughter anybody and everybody, including <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/muslims\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"704\">Muslims<\/a> who are in towns where the government is at,\u201d Karr explained. \u201cISWAP is a little bit more diplomatic in the sense that they target collaborators, they target civilian militias, but they try to maintain good relations with ordinary Muslims, especially those who will agree to pay taxes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ISWAP split off from Boko Haram, and the two have since fought each other with a ferocity equalling that of their fight with the government. Shekau blew himself up with a suicide vest during a battle against ISWAP in 2021, severely weakening the group and ensuring the dominance of ISWAP.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another ISIS affiliate, Islamic State Sahel Province, also operates in Nigeria, but is mainly focused on operations in Niger to the north.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-nigeria-stretched-thin\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Nigeria stretched thin<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Karr and Palmer both pushed back against suggestions that the Nigerian military was incompetent in fighting ISWAP and the other jihadist groups, arguing instead that it was overstretched and fighting a difficult battle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey\u2019re <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/global-food-crisis-continues-usaid-administrator-talks-causes\/\" title=\"Global food crisis continues, USAID administrator talks causes\">stretched pretty thin<\/a>, it\u2019s a big country, it\u2019s been dealing with violence of a lot of different types for a long time\u2026 they are also dealing with significant cross-border problems,\u201d Palmer said, pointing to ISSP in particular.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger from the Economic Community of West African States has further harmed efforts, given jihadists\u2019 ability to stage attacks from the three unstable countries, then retreat back before being caught or neutralized.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn addition, counterinsurgency is just really, really hard,\u201d Palmer said. \u201cIt\u2019s not enough to just be able to kill terrorists, which the Nigerian military is able to do. You also have to sustain presence in these areas, you have to be able to build ties with the local community, and you have to separate the terrorists over the long term from their base of support.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The different religious, ethnic, cross-border, and political factors at play \u201cmake this a really complex environment to navigate, and it would be unrealistic to expect really rapid progress against any of these groups, in my opinion,\u201d Palmer argued.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-washington-to-the-rescue\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Washington to the rescue?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite counterterrorism being one of Washington\u2019s primary foreign policy focuses since <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/9-11\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"957\">9\/11<\/a>, a large jihadist insurgency in Africa\u2019s most populous country has gone less noticed than might be expected.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cUntil recently, the violence in Northern Nigeria has not been seen by the United States as a core interest, the way that it sees, in Africa in particular, the Al Shabaab insurgency [in Somalia],\u201d Palmer said, explaining that Somalia\u2019s location next to vital shipping lanes makes the presence of an Al Qaeda affiliate more central to U.S. interests.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Boko Haram, formerly the head of jihadist violence in Nigeria, was seen as more local in character and focus, despite \u201cShekau\u2019s brief dalliance with the Islamic State.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt was much more local. It had a real tendency toward kind of banditry and raiding and less political, more criminal activity, and so it wasn\u2019t seen as an international terrorist threat, the way that some of these other groups were,\u201d Palmer added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The major change in U.S. interest was largely the doing of the second <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/trump-administration\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"339\">Trump administration<\/a>, which has been especially concerned about ISWAP and other jihadist groups\u2019 atrocities against Christians.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe recent counterterrorism strategy says that the first US interest in Africa is to prevent external operations against the United States,\u201d Palmer said. \u201cThe second interest is to protect Christians, and the administration has made a lot of the treatment of Christians in northern Nigeria.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also noted the possible contribution of the loss of a major counterterrorism partner in Niger, which had been viewed favorably by the intelligence community. Nigeria\u2019s status as a growing power with the largest population on the continent also gives the U.S. good reason to help out.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. help in recent months has mainly been limited to drone strikes, training and advisory to Nigerian troops, and intelligence sharing. Palmer and Karr both said that U.S. help wouldn\u2019t be a \u201csilver bullet,\u201d but could be highly valuable.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt remains to see if it\u2019ll be decisive in the long run, but this sort of thing is certainly helpful,\u201d Palmer said. \u201cNigerian intelligence personnel have told <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/media\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"3\">journalists<\/a> how helpful it is to have U.S. targeting intelligence, and the United States maintains the world\u2019s most skilled armed forces.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4560187\/power-vacuum-al-qaeda-central-sahel\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"4560187\">HOW GREAT POWER COMPETITION IN THE CENTRAL SAHEL HELPED OPEN A VACUUM FOR AL QAEDA<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI certainly think that it plays a big role in enabling the Nigerian military to do more stuff, or be more effective than it otherwise would be, but it\u2019s not going to solve the issue \u2026 you can\u2019t just drone strike your way out of this,\u201d Karr argued. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo intelligence sharing and drone strikes and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/malinowski-isis-very-present-in-afghanistan-and-we-cant-solve-issue-just-with-special-forces-raids\/\" title=\"Malinowski: ISIS &#039;Very Present in Afghanistan&#039; and We Can&#039;t Solve Issue &#039;Just With Special Forces Raids&#039;\">special force raids<\/a> certainly can help you take out certain leaders and help mow the grass, and maybe help contain it, but it won\u2019t actually be decisive in solving it, because that\u2019s something that\u2019s not a military solution,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Northern Nigeria\u2019s rising ISIS insurgency is pulling Washington in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2653,"featured_media":2606835,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26118531530040.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[78623,40796,3937,80269,19990],"class_list":["post-2606834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-boko-haram","tag-counterterrorism","tag-isis","tag-militancy","tag-nigeria"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26118531530040.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2606834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2653"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2606834"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2606834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2606838,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2606834\/revisions\/2606838"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2606835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2606834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2606834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2606834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}