00:00The top U.S. Africa Command Lieutenant General John Brennan said that the Christmas Day strikes by the United States on northwest Nigeria targeted militants linked to an Islamic State wing largely active in neighboring Niger.
00:15Nigeria is battling multiple Jihadis organizations including several linked to Islamic State.
00:20The targets were areas that all terrorist groups from the Sahel use as a staging area. The most recent information we received from the Nigerians was it was ISIS-West Africa or ISIS-Sahel related.
00:34So we developed those targets in conjunction with the Nigerians at their behest.
00:41He further said that the United States is still working in a limited manner with militaries of Junta-led Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, despite them shunning traditional Western partners.
00:55We still collaborate. We have actually shared information with some of them to attack key terrorist targets.
01:02But it's very different than it was even two or three years ago.
01:05We are trying to work with them to assuage them that we have intentions to help them.
01:13But there's obviously other competitors that are whispering in their ear telling them myths and disinformation about our intentions.
01:19So we're breaking through that network.
01:21Neighboring countries are also fighting ISIS-linked groups and there are worries those conflicts are spilling into the country.
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