Nigeria, Feb. 11 -- The move, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, will reinforce a small U.S. team already on ground assisting Nigerian forces with air-strike targeting and operational planning.

The deployment signals a notable expansion of U.S.-Nigeria security cooperation, coming on the heels of joint actions that included American airstrikes in northwest Sokoto State last December and the earlier arrival of U.S. military specialists this year.

According to officials, the incoming personnel will not engage in direct combat. Instead, they will focus on training, technical support, intelligence sharing, and coordinating complex joint operations between Nigerian air and ground forces against jihadist groups.

"We are getting U.S....