Heavy United States military build-up in Nigeria for the past week in preparation of a potential US-backed offensive against Islamic State affiliate ISWAP in northeast Nigeria.
Between February 6 and 14, six US Air Force cargo planes landed in West Africa, all of them stopping in Accra, Ghana first. Five of them landed later on in Nigerian Air Force bases, while the sixth aircraft only arrived today and will likely follow the route towards the northeast as well.
- 1x C-17A to Kainji Airbase
- 1x C-130J-30 to Maiduguri Airbase, Borno
- 3x C-17A to Maiduguri Airbase, Borno
All of them left the respective bases on the same day they landed.
Maiduguri Airbase will likely be the primary base of operations for supporting the Nigerian army against ISWAP. This is a critical location as the IS affiliate currently controls most of Borno State rural areas.
The volume of the delivery and the type of aircraft used by the USAF indicates that very heavy equipment is being sent to Maiduguri Airbase, I suspect at least one or more MQ-9 Reaper drones, attack helicopters and of course a large number of US troops.
On February 10, American and Nigerian officials told WSJ that the US was to send 200 US troops to Nigeria.
Source; Nigeria Military Gallery on FB
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