Sebastian Gorka, U.S. President Donald Trump’s deputy assistant and senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council, says American forces killed 199 jihadists in a single operation in Nigeria.
Gorka made the claim during a June 24 interview with Marissa Streit, CEO of conservative media outlet PragerU. Discussing U.S. counterterrorism efforts, he said the details had been declassified.
“I watched it live from the situation room,” Gorka said. “Three weeks ago in Nigeria… I watched our operatives kill 199 jihadists in one operation.” He described it as “the biggest neutralisation enemy killed in action since September the 11th,” adding that the targets “will not harm Americans again.”
Gorka also said U.S. forces recovered a large amount of electronic material during the raid. “We needed an extra plane to bring home all the electronic material that we captured in those camps,” he said. “The haul was three times bigger than any enemy electronics haul since 9/11.” He said analysts are now reviewing the data to understand how ISIS-linked groups communicate.
It was not immediately clear which specific operation Gorka was referring to. U.S. and Nigerian forces have previously carried out joint missions against ISIS-affiliated and ISWAP militants in the Lake Chad Basin. Neither the U.S. Department of Defense nor Nigerian authorities had confirmed the claimed strike at the time of publication.
Gorka argued that Africa has become a central front in counterterrorism as extremist groups exploit instability and local conflicts. He also pointed to U.S. interest in security partnerships across the continent.
In the same interview, he said the Trump administration’s approach is not focused on nation-building. “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,’” he said. “If you’re threatening Americans, or if you’re targeting Christians because they’re Christians, he has a very strong message to send to you.”
_Editor’s Note: The claims have not been independently verified by U.S. or Nigerian military officials._
