Nigeria-US Raid Kills 199 Jihadists, Produces Largest Terror Intel Haul Since 9/11 

The United States has described the haul of electronic devices and intelligence materials recovered during a recent joint counterterrorism operation in Nigeria as the largest haul of enemy electronics seized since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The disclosure came from Sebastian Gorka, the United States Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council, during an interview with Marissa Streit, chief executive officer of PragerU.

According to Gorka, the volume of intelligence recovered during the operation was so significant that the United States deployed an additional aircraft to transport the seized electronic equipment and other materials from the terrorist camps.

He said intelligence agencies are now analyzing the devices to better understand how the Islamic State communicates, operates and coordinates its activities.

Gorka described the mission as one of the most significant counterterrorism successes recorded under the current administration, likening the operation to a Hollywood action film.

“I can talk about this because it has been declassified. The President is not nation-building; he’s not going around the world like some lunatic neocon saying, ‘we will turn the world into America’.

“But if you’re threatening Americans, or if you’re targeting Christians, because they are Christians, he has a very strong message to send to you, whether it was his Christmas Day strike, or three weeks ago, what we did in Nigeria.

“Three weeks ago in Nigeria, and I watched it live from the Situation Room. It was like being in a Tom Clancy movie, but it’s better because it’s real. I watched our operatives kill 199 jihadists in one operation.”

Gorka said the operation resulted in the elimination of 199 jihadists, describing it as the largest number of enemy fighters neutralized in a single counterterrorism mission since the September 11 attacks.

“Now, why is this important? That is the biggest neutralisation enemy killed in action since September the 11th, 199 jihadists who will not harm Americans again.

“Not only that, from that raid we brought home, we needed an extra plane to bring home all the electronic material that we captured in those camps. And the haul was three times bigger than any enemy electronics haul since 9-11.

“And that is priceless, because now our experts are taking apart all of that information, looking at how ISIS is communicating with each other. We are so back in the game of counterterrorism. It is just superlative to watch our professionals,” he said.

Gorka also claimed that the administration of Donald Trump has eliminated more than 1,000 jihadists globally as part of its counterterrorism efforts.

Explaining why Africa remains a major focus, he said extremist groups continue to exploit poorly governed regions across the continent to rebuild their networks.

“Terrorists need ungoverned space. They need somewhere where they can hang out and rebuild. Africa has a lot of ungoverned space. That’s why I focus a lot of my attention on that region of the world where ISIS is trying to reconstitute a caliphate,” he said.

The operation was conducted in collaboration with the Nigerian government as part of expanding security cooperation between both countries.

Reacting to the development, Director of Defence Information, Samaila Uba, said the operation had already been announced by the Nigerian military and that the details released by the United States were previously classified.

“This is not a new operation. We have previously communicated our highly successful joint operations in May. What you are hearing are some declassified information concerning our previous operation being given out now. However, Nigeria-US joint operations and collaboration are very much on course,” he said.