The U.S. military has sent MQ-9 Reaper drones to Nigeria, a U.S. defense official reportedly told The Associated Press, as fears are growing of a renewed insurgency by the terrorist group Boko Haram. 

The drones were deployed after 200 U.S. troops arrived in Nigeria last month to provide training and intelligence. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is battling a complex security crisis, especially in the north of the country. 

A spokesperson for AFRICOM, the U.S. Africa Command, told the AP that U.S. troops “are working alongside their Nigerian counterparts to provide intelligence support, advisory assistance, and targeted training in support of the Nigerian Armed Forces.” 

Among the most prominent Islamic militant groups active in Nigeria are Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, which is affiliated with the Islamic State and is known as Islamic State West Africa Province, or ISWAP.  

NIGERIA SUICIDE BOMBINGS KILL AT LEAST 23 PEOPLE, WOUND MORE THAN 100 

There is also the ISIS-linked Lakurawa, as well as other “bandit” groups that specialize in kidnapping for ransom and illegal mining. 

The U.S. troops and the MQ-9 drones are based at Bauchi Airfield, a newly built airport in the northeast of the country, the spokesperson said to the AP. The number of drones deployed remains unclear. 

The deployment is part of a new security partnership agreed on after President Donald Trump sounded the alarm about Christians being slaughtered in Nigeria’s security crisis. 

The U.S. launched strikes against IS forces on Dec. 26 — the day after Christmas.

Earlier this month, three suspected suicide bombings killed at least 23 people and wounded 108 others in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state in northeastern Nigeria. No group claimed responsibility, but suspicion quickly fell on Boko Haram, which in 2009 launched an insurgency in northeastern Nigeria to enforce Sharia law.

100 US TROOPS LAND IN NIGERIA AS ISLAMIC MILITANTS THREATEN WEST AFRICA REGIONAL SECURITY 

MQ-9 drones cost around $30 million apiece and have separate models for land and sea. They can also be used to carry out airstrikes, but AFRICOM says they will only be used in Nigeria for intelligence-gathering and training. 

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence says Boko Haram aims to “overthrow the current Nigerian Government and replace it with a regime based on Islamic law.” 

 

“The U.S. State Department designated Boko Haram a Foreign Terrorist Organization in November 2013,” it added. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

A fake Euronews-style article and website claiming that Hungary’s opposition leader Péter Magyar insulted Donald Trump is circulating online as part of a wider campaign researchers have linked to Storm-1516, a Russian disinformation operation.

The article, which utilises a real byline and appeared on a fake Euronews website that has since been taken down, claims that Magyar delivered a blistering critique of Trump at a campaign rally.

Among other false claims, the article says Magyar called Trump a “senile grandpa” and promised to undo “key agreements” made with the US, should Magyar win parliamentary elections in Hungary scheduled on 12 April.

The article’s contents are fabricated and the website it appeared on have no connection to Euronews.

A video report that repeats the claim using Euronews’ branding is also circulating on social media. The Cube, Euronews’ fact-checking team, found examples of this clip circulating since Monday evening, some with thousands of views.

The videos were posted by accounts with similar captions in quick succession, implying they are part of a coordinated campaign. The accounts that posted the clip were largely anonymised, with X’s location tool showing they are based in the US and Africa.

Researchers at Antibot for Navalny, a collective that tracks Russian bot networks online, told The Cube that the post was part of Storm-1516, a prolific Russian disinformation campaign that spreads claims online that further the interests of the Russian government.

The group are typically active during election campaigns, having spread false claims about Democratic Party candidates in the 2024 US presidential election and during Germany’s February 2025 elections.

In December, Germany’s Foreign Minister summoned the country’s Russian ambassador over allegations of repeated Russian hybrid attempts in Germany including allegations that Storm 1516 actively spread disinformation during the country’s general elections.

At the time, the campaign focused on Chancellor candidate for the Greens, Robert Habeck, and current German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Hungary’s upcoming parliamentary elections will see Magyar’s Tisza Party pitted against current Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Magyar has accused Hungary’s secret service of targeting his party’s campaign systems just weeks before the election date in a hostile election campaign in which polls suggest his party is ahead.

Orbán, meanwhile, has become embroiled in scandal in Brussels after a Washington Post investigation revealed Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó regularly leaked sensitive information from high-level European Union meetings to Moscow.

Orbán has maintained close ties to the Kremlin despite the resistance of other European leaders and has utilised Hungary’s veto power to block key decisions on European aid to Ukraine.

Iran’s negotiating posture has hardened sharply since the war began, with the Revolutionary ‌Guards exerting growing influence over decision-making, and it will demand significant concessions from the United States if mediation efforts lead to serious negotiations, three senior sources in Tehran said.

In any talks with the U.S., Iran would not only demand an end to the war but concessions that are likely red lines for U.S. President Donald Trump – guarantees against future military action, compensation for wartime losses and formal control of the Strait of Hormuz, the sources said.


Iran would also refuse to negotiate any limitations to its ballistic missile programme, they said, an issue that had been a red line for Tehran during the talks that were taking place when the U.S. and Israel launched their attack last month.

Reuters