The United States has claimed that electronic equipment seized during a recent counterterrorism operation in Nigeria represents the largest cache of enemy intelligence materials recovered since the September 11, 2001 attacks.
According to U.S. Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council, Dr. Sebastian Gorka, the volume of electronic devices captured was so extensive that an additional aircraft was required to transport them to the United States for analysis. He said American intelligence experts are examining the materials to better understand ISIS communications, networks, and operational methods.
Speaking during an interview with PragerU CEO Marissa Streit, Gorka described the Nigerian operation as one of the administration’s most significant counterterrorism achievements, comparing it to “being in a Tom Clancy movie, but it’s better because it’s real.”
He claimed the raid resulted in the deaths of 199 jihadists, calling it the largest single counterterrorism neutralization since the September 11 attacks.
“I can talk about this because it has been declassified. The President is not…going around the world like some lunatic neocon saying, ‘we will turn the world into America’.
“But if you’re threatening Americans, or if you’re targeting Christians, he has a very strong message to send to you, whether it was his Christmas Day strike, or three weeks ago, what we did in Nigeria.”
Recalling the operation, Gorka said, “Three weeks ago in Nigeria, I watched it live from the Situation Room. It was like being in a Tom Clancy movie, but it’s better because it’s real. I watched our operatives kill 199 jihadists in one operation.”
He continued: “Now, why is this important? That is the biggest neutralisation enemy killed in action since September the 11th. 199 jihadists who will not harm Americans again.”
Gorka further stated: “Not only that, from that raid we brought home, we needed an extra plane to bring home all the electronic material that we captured in those camps. The haul was three times bigger than any enemy electronics haul since 9 to 11.”
“That is priceless, because now our experts are taking apart all of that information, looking at how ISIS is communicating with each other. We are so back in the game of counterterrorism. It is just superlative to watch our professionals.”
The comments come amid expanded security cooperation between the United States and Nigeria since late 2025, including intelligence sharing, military collaboration, and institutional reforms. The renewed partnership followed talks in Washington led by Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, which resulted in the creation of a Nigeria U.S. Joint Working Group on security.
Among the joint efforts was an operation in Borno State that reportedly eliminated several ISWAP fighters, including deputy leader Abu Bakr al Mainuki.
Gorka argued that the intelligence recovered during the Nigerian operation could have long term strategic value, saying the devices are being examined to help dismantle ISIS networks and prevent future attacks.
Highlighting the administration’s broader counterterrorism policy, he said more than 1,000 jihadists had been killed globally during President Donald Trump’s first 15 months in office, while 106 American hostages had been rescued without ransom payments.
“We are not watching and waiting. We are dealing death to bad people,” Gorka said.
He also warned that ISIS continues to pose a significant threat, particularly to Christian communities in Nigeria.
“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,” he said.
Discussing Africa, Gorka argued that extremist groups are exploiting weakly governed regions across the continent after being displaced from Iraq and Syria.
“Terrorists need ungoverned space. They need somewhere where they can hang out and rebuild. Africa has a lot of ungoverned space. That’s why I focus a lot of my attention on that region of the world where ISIS is trying to reconstitute a caliphate,” he stated.
He added that although many African conflicts stem from local disputes, extremist groups seek to exploit those tensions by imposing radical ideologies, saying the United States is working with African governments to counter that strategy.
Gorka also said relations between Washington and several African countries had improved under the current administration.
“We’ve been working intelligently. I sent a team of mine out to Africa to some key states and said, look, we’re not here to tell you what to believe in. But if you’ve got a terrorist threat, that is a threat to us. Let’s work together,” he said.
Defending the Trump administration’s designation of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, Gorka described it as a major counterterrorism decision, arguing that the group provided the ideological foundation for organizations such as ISIS, Al Qaeda, and Hamas.
Explaining how the Nigerian operation was approved, Gorka said President Trump acted immediately after being briefed.
“We told the President, this man has killed Americans and is planning to kill Americans. And we’ve been watching him for a year and a half under the Biden administration.”
“The President (Trump) looked up from the resident desk, he looked at us and said, What do you mean we’re watching him? Kill him.”
“And as a result, he took out his iconic sharpie pen. He ticked the ‘go box’ on the operational orders we had in front of him. Less than 30 hours later, I’m in the situation room under the West Wing with the National Security Advisor with my colleague from my counterterrorism team.”
“And we watched like clockwork at exactly 8.45 in the morning on Saturday, this ISIS leader being permanently removed from the battlefield. The President then declassified the video of that strike. He posted it on Truth Social, it went 120 million likes in like eight hours,” he added.
