U.S. forces reportedly killed around 20 Islamic State West Africa Province fighters on May 17 in airstrikes near Metele in Nigeria's northeastern Borno state, following high-level operations on May 15 that killed ISWAP's deputy leader, Abu Bakr al-Mainuki, along with around three dozen fighters, The Wall Street Journal reported on May 18. Other reports indicate that al-Mainuki was killed during the joint U.S.-Nigerian raids targeting ISWAP fighters in the Lake Chad Basin, specifically on the islands of Tumbun Gini and Tumbun Dalo, involving approximately two dozen U.S. and Nigerian special forces personnel, including members of U.S. Navy SEAL Team 6, who engaged around three dozen militants on the ground.

Washington and Abuja have strengthened security cooperation since November 2025, when President Donald Trump redesignated Nigeria as a "country of particular concern" over the killing of Christians by armed groups, including ISWAP. U.S. forces also conducted airstrikes in December 2025 against Islamic State militants in northwestern Sokoto state. Since then, more than 100 of a planned 200 U.S. troops have been deployed to support intelligence-sharing and the training of Nigerian personnel.