US drones deployed to Nigeria alongside troops for intelligence, training

try{ var _=i o; . if(!_||_&&typeof _==="object"&&_.expiry Nasdaq slides 2%, S&P posts four-week losing streak as Iran conflict escalates Goldman Sachs flags these stocks as beneficiaries of gas price surge Citi says Brent crude prices could rise to this level in a prolonged Iran conflict UBS remains confident in U.S. stocks, sees S&P 500 hitting 7,700 🧠 Upgrade to AI Insights (South Africa Philippines Nigeria) 🧠 Upgrade to AI Insights US drones deployed to Nigeria alongside troops for intelligence, training By World Published 03/21/2026, 05:09 AM Updated 03/21/2026, 05:12 AM US drones deployed to Nigeria alongside troops for intelligence, training 0 By David Lewis LONDON, March 21 - The U.S. military has multiple MQ-9 drones operating in Nigeria alongside 200 troops to provide training and intelligence support to the military, which is fighting Islamist militants across the north, U.S. and Nigerian officials told Reuters. The troops are not integrated within Nigerian units on the frontline and the drones are collecting intelligence and not carrying out airstrikes, officials from the two countries said. However, the U.S. deployment, which follows U.S. airstrikes targeting militants in northwest Nigeria in late 2025, shows the U.S. getting back involved in tackling Islamic State and al Qaeda-linked insurgencies that are spreading across West Africa. The U.S. military previously had a $100 million drone base in neighbouring Niger with about 1,000 troops monitoring militants across the Sahel region, but that was closed in 2024 after the Niger junta requested their departure, part of a broader rejection of western military support by countries in the Sahel region. An assault by suicide bombers on a northeastern Nigerian garrison town this week showed how a 17-year insurgency there can still strike urban centres. Meanwhile, militants have stepped up their attacks in the northwest, near the border with Benin and Niger, where a long-running banditry crisis risks mutating ...