James Hecker, commander of the U.S. Air Forces, Europe and Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA), says the US Air Force will carry out airstrikes against terrorist targets across Africa.
Mr Hecker stated this at a digital news conference while attending the 2025 African Air Chiefs’ Symposium (AACS), on Wednesday in Lusaka, Zambia.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the digital conference was organised to enable Mr. Hecker to discuss US commitments to military partnerships with African nations and AACS operations.
Mr Hecker said terrorist groups like ISIS were high-value targets that threatened African nations and the US and would be targeted by the US as it did against ISIS in Somalia recently.
They are significant high-value targets that threaten African nations and threaten the United States.
So we will continue to go after terrorist organizations that threaten our African partners as well as the United States, he said.
Mr Hecker said that the US was willing to collaborate with African air forces, not only by way of security support but also through humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts.
On Boko Haram insurgency, and how the US Air Force can help the Nigerian military achieve air superiority over the terrorists, he said the US had already been supporting Nigeria.
Well, I think, as you know, the US Government has provided training and equipment to Nigeria for quite a while, so hopefully that will help them out.
But what we’re looking at in this conference is not that. We’re not talking about air superiority or conflict.
We’re talking about how we can help each other – African nations can help one another – and that’s what the goal of this conference is,” Mr Hecker said.
