Sebastian Gorka, Deputy Assistant to United States
President Donald Trump and Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National
Security Council, has claimed that American forces killed 199 jihadist fighters
during a recent counterterrorism operation in Nigeria.
Gorka made the assertion during an interview with
PragerU CEO Marissa Streit, which aired on June 24, while discussing the Trump
administration's counterterrorism strategy.
According to him, the operation was recently
declassified and formed part of Washington's broader approach of targeting
terrorist groups that threaten American interests rather than engaging in
long-term nation-building efforts.
He said President Trump had adopted a firm stance
against extremist organisations, particularly those targeting Americans and
Christians around the world.
Referring to the alleged mission, Gorka claimed he
personally monitored the operation from the White House Situation Room.
"I watched our operatives kill 199 jihadists in
one operation," he said, adding that the mission took place in Nigeria
approximately three weeks before the interview.
He further described the operation as the largest
single neutralisation of enemy combatants by U.S. forces since the September
11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
According to Gorka, the mission also resulted in the
seizure of a large cache of electronic intelligence, requiring an additional
aircraft to transport the recovered materials.
He claimed the intelligence haul was three times
larger than any electronic evidence recovered from enemy forces since 9/11 and
would provide valuable insight into how ISIS-linked groups communicate and
coordinate their activities.
The senior counterterrorism official said analysts
were examining the recovered devices to strengthen future operations against
extremist organisations.
Although Gorka did not identify the specific operation
he was referring to, the United States and Nigeria have previously collaborated
on counterterrorism efforts targeting Islamic State West Africa Province
(ISWAP) and other ISIS-linked militant groups operating in the Lake Chad Basin.
He also argued that Africa has become an increasingly
important front in the global fight against terrorism, citing the expansion of
extremist networks that exploit political instability and local conflicts
across the continent.
Neither the U.S. government nor Nigerian authorities
immediately provided additional details identifying the operation referenced by
Gorka or officially confirming the casualty figures he cited.
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