The United States has withdrawn most of the forces after a recent operation against Daesh terrorists in Nigeria and is now providing intelligence support at Abuja's request, the head of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) says.

US and Nigerian forces, in May, conducted military operations in northeastern Nigeria that killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, the second-in-command of Daesh globally. That followed a US strike “against terrorists" on Christmas Day.

Addressing a conference of African defence chiefs in Angola on Thursday, AFRICOM Commander General Dagvin Anderson described May's joint US-Nigerian operation as a model for future security cooperation in Africa.

"We have withdrawn much of our forces that were just there for that operation, but are continuing the partnership that Nigeria has asked for to help continue with the intelligence sharing," Anderson told journalists during a US State Department-hosted briefing after the conference.

African partnerships

Anderson said the operation, in Nigeria's Lake Chad Basin region, demonstrated Washington's approach of providing specialised capabilities while allowing African partners to lead security operations.

He said cooperation with Nigeria had helped significantly degrade Daesh's leadership, adding that the impact had extended beyond West Africa because of the terrorist group's international network.

The operation disrupted not only local commanders but also broader Daesh communications and operations, he added.