US Warns of Renewed ISIS Expansion Across Africa

The United States has raised fresh concerns over the growing spread of extremist groups across Africa, warning that remnants of the Islamic State (ISIS) are regrouping in parts of the continent years after the terror network was declared defeated in Iraq and Syria.

In its newly released 2026 counterterrorism strategy, Washington identified West Africa, the Sahel, the Lake Chad Basin, Mozambique, Sudan and Somalia as emerging flashpoints where ISIS-linked fighters and allied extremist groups are re-establishing operations.

ISIS was officially declared defeated in Iraq and Syria in 2017 following years of coordinated military campaigns supported by US forces.

However, American authorities say fighters displaced from the Middle East have increasingly shifted operations into fragile African regions already battling insurgencies and weak state control.

“As a result, today there are parts of Africa where a resurgent terror threat is the reality. These include in West Africa, the Sahel region, the Lake Chad Basin, Mozambique, Sudan, and of course Somalia, where parts of ISIS have re-established themselves and Al Shabaab maintains its tribal-based Islamist insurgency,” the strategy document stated.

The report specifically referenced the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin — regions that include parts of northern Nigeria — where extremist factions operating as Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa Province have continued attacks on military formations and civilian communities while holding territory in some remote areas.

The US said its revised Africa policy would move away from large-scale military interventions and instead focus on preventing extremist groups from developing operational bases capable of launching international attacks.

“In Africa, we have two clear goals that depart from the nation-building and interventionist policies of the past. The first is to guarantee that none of the Jihadi groups can build a base of operations that allows them to plot and execute attacks against the United States and American interests around the world,” the document read.

“The second is to protect Christians, who have been slaughtered at the hands of these Jihadi groups.”

The remarks come amid persistent criticism from some American lawmakers and advocacy groups accusing Nigerian authorities of not doing enough to curb attacks on Christian communities in parts of the country.

The administration of President Bola Tinubu has repeatedly rejected claims that Nigeria’s insecurity crisis is driven by religion, insisting that terrorism and banditry affect multiple communities regardless of faith or ethnicity.

The US strategy also referenced President Donald Trump’s decision to authorise strikes against Islamist militants on Christmas Day, describing the operation as evidence that attacks targeting Christian communities would not be overlooked. Nigeria had previously confirmed it approved the operation.

Despite plans to scale back portions of its global military presence, Washington said it would continue counterterrorism operations against extremist groups in Africa considered capable of threatening American interests abroad.

According to the document, the US is rebuilding bilateral counterterrorism partnerships with African countries and intends to continue supporting governments facing threats from ISIS and al-Qaeda affiliates through intelligence sharing and military capacity development.

The strategy stated that such cooperation would continue until “our shared foes no longer pose a serious threat to either them or us”.

“Wherever possible, we will marry such CT cooperation with the stabilizing effect of heightened trade and commercial relations, as witnessed by President Trump’s historic peace deal between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo – an example of how security is a prerequisite for prosperity,” the US added.

Washington further described Africa as a continent with “almost limitless potential” but stressed that long-term stability would depend on governments maintaining control over their territories and denying extremists safe havens.

The document also indicated that African regional allies would be expected to shoulder more responsibility in future counterterrorism operations.