LONDON, March 21 (Reuters) - 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. A U.S. ​defence official said the drones had been ‌deployed alongside troops at the request of the Nigerians to collect intelligence. "This support builds on the newly established U.S.-Nigeria intelligence fusion cell, which continues to deliver actionable intelligence to our field commanders," he told Reuters. Late last year, Reuters reported that aircraft based in Ghana had been conducting intelligence gathering flights for the U.S. military over Nigeria.

Source: The Star March 21, 2026 13:49 UTC