The Pentagon is preparing to withdraw about 200 troops from Nigeria who were deployed this year to help fight Islamist militants, wrapping up a mission that American officials say could serve as a model for future operations in Africa.

At a time when some 50,000 U.S. forces are involved in the war against Iran, American and Nigerian officials say the relatively small deployment to the West African nation had outsized results, including the killing of a top Islamic State leader.

But the mission appears to have had limited success. The terrorists are a long way from being defeated and are still carrying out major attacks across the country.

In recent days, gunmen killed more than two dozen people, including an imam, in northwestern Nigeria, and at least 25 people in an attack on a village in the central part of the country, according to news media reports. On Saturday, terrorists launched a large assault on a military base in the northeast.

The U.S. troops were sent to northeastern Nigeria in February weeks after President Trump criticized the country for failing to protect Christians from terrorist attacks, though both Christians and Muslims have been victims of the violence.

The deployment augmented a small team of U.S. forces who were assisting local soldiers with identifying potential terrorist targets for strikes using American and Nigerian intelligence.

The mission culminated in May when a joint U.S.-Nigerian commando raid, including members of the Navy’s SEAL Team 6, killed Abu Bilal al-Minuki, the de facto leader of the Islamic State’s global operations.

Within weeks, more than 200 other militants were killed in a series of airstrikes and ground raids involving Special Operations MQ-9 Reaper drones and AC-130 gunships, U.S. military officials said.

The death of Mr. al-Minuki and the weakening of the Islamic State network in Nigeria were the most visible signs of the emerging partnership between the two militaries.

But senior U.S. military officials say the more enduring achievement was improving intelligence sharing and special forces training with a country that has long resisted close ties to the Pentagon. Small teams of trainers and intelligence analysts will remain in Nigeria after the larger contingent leaves by late September, U.S. military officials said.

The monthslong mission could open the door to building closer security cooperation with other coastal West African nations, such as Benin, Togo and Ghana, which face increasing pressure from the Islamic State, Al Qaeda and other extremist groups.

“Our recent joint efforts in Nigeria are a prime example of how this tailored, temporary footprint can yield significant security returns,” said Col. Becky Heyse, a spokeswoman for the Pentagon’s Africa Command.

The Nigerian military declined requests for comment on the American military withdrawal.

This approach would mark a major shift away from the permanent military footprint the United States had in West Africa, specifically in Niger, until the ruling junta there forced the Pentagon to leave two years ago and to turn over a $110 million drone base near the city of Agadez.

U.S. commanders say that would signal that the American military is seeking limited access for missions with set objectives, a message that American officials say has resonated on the African continent and helped defuse Russian propaganda that the United States is part of a new Western colonial movement.

Relations between Nigeria and the United States took a startling turn late last year after Mr. Trump threatened to enter Nigeria “guns-a-blazing” to avenge what he has called a “Christian genocide.”

Weeks later, on Christmas Day, Navy warships aided by Nigerian intelligence launched 16 Tomahawk missiles at what Mr. Trump said was the “terrorist scum” responsible for killing Nigerian Christians.

The strike was the explosive outcome of an intense, yearslong push led by Christian activists, Republican lawmakers and American celebrities seeking U.S. intervention in a long-simmering security crisis in Nigeria.

Thousands of Muslim and Christian Nigerians have been killed by armed groups in recent years. The violence involves battles over land, kidnappings for ransom, sectarian tensions and terrorism, but many of the activists wanted Mr. Trump to see the conflict through a single lens: the persecution of Christians.

Public reaction in Nigeria was sharply divided when the 200 American soldiers deployed in February. Some analysts warned that the U.S. intervention could inflame existing tensions especially between the largely Christian south and Muslim-majority north.

However, joint operations in recent months that eliminated key extremist leaders like Mr. al-Minuki appear to have tempered some of the initial skepticism.

Mr. Trump and President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria exchanged letters in July expressing support for the military cooperation. And a high-level Nigerian military delegation met with their American counterparts in Washington Aug. 13 to “advance shared security priorities,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

Malik Samuel, a Nigerian security analyst, said that since Mr. al-Minuki’s death, “there have been successful military operations especially in the northeast.” Nigerian security forces have carried out targeted operations that have denied Islamic State insurgents room to operate, he said.

“The presence of the troops on ground also puts pressure on the Nigerian security forces to live up to their responsibility,” Mr. Samuel said.

However, experts and residents fear that a U.S. withdrawal could have serious consequences for Nigeria’s fight against insurgency. Insurgent violence against civilians has increased this year compared to the same period in 2025, according to Ladd Serwat, a senior Africa analyst at the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, a conflict-monitoring group.

He said much of the violence, which peaked in April, was carried out by Islamic State West Africa Province in northeastern areas of the country. Kabir Adamu, an analyst with Beacon Security and Innovations Limited, a Nigerian security consulting firm, added: “If the Americans withdraw and we see a reduction in terms of this type of intelligence support, it would allow these groups to regroup and regenerate.”

Still, many experts and residents say it is the responsibility of the Nigerian government, not the United States, to conduct the long-term fight against terrorists.

The departure of American advisers will be a test of Nigeria’s preparedness, said Ayinla Abdulbasit, 27, a resident of Osun State, in the country’s south, noting that the U.S. withdrawal will not necessarily create a security void, if the American mission successfully built local intelligence and operational capacity.

“But if Nigeria simply relies on foreign assistance without developing sustainable domestic capabilities,” he said, “their departure could make things more difficult, particularly in tracking armed groups and responding quickly to threats.”

Eric Schmitt reported from Washington, Saikou Jammeh from Dakar, Senegal, and Ismail Auwal from Kano, Nigeria.