The U.S. State Department approved the sale of A-29 Super Tucano attack planes to Nigeria for $593 million, Vanguard reported Aug. 4. Nigeria has been attempting to purchase the planes for years, but previous attempts failed because of accusations of human rights abuses from the former government of U.S. President Barack Obama. Nigeria is expected to use the planes to combat terrorism and insurgency from groups including the Islamic State and Wilayat al Sudan al Gharbi, better known by its former name, Boko Haram .