US Forces carried out deadly strikes on ISIS militants in Nigeria — Trump
United States President Donald Trump has said American forces carried out “powerful and deadly” strikes against Islamic State militants in northwestern Nigeria on Thursday, following his warning to the group to stop killing Christians in the country.
The Department of Defense confirmed that “multiple ISIS terrorists” were killed in the operation, which it said was carried out at the request of Nigerian authorities, although further details were not disclosed.
According to Trump, the strikes targeted IS positions on Christmas Day.
“I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was,” he said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“May God Bless our Military,” he added, before saying, “MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues.”
The US Africa Command also confirmed in a post on X that it conducted a strike “at the request of Nigerian authorities in (Sokoto state) killing multiple ISIS terrorists.”
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, reacting on X, commended the department’s readiness to act in Nigeria and said he was “grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation.”
The operation marks the first known US military strike in Nigeria under Trump and follows his criticism of the country in October and November, when he said Christians in Nigeria faced an “existential threat” amounting to “genocide”.
While some welcomed the remarks, others viewed them as potentially heightening religious tensions in Africa’s most populous nation, which has a history of sectarian violence.
Nigeria’s government and independent analysts have rejected describing the country’s security challenges as religious persecution, a narrative often promoted by Christian conservative groups in the United States and Europe.
Nevertheless, Trump, emphasising what his administration describes as global persecution of Christians, maintained that Washington was prepared to take military action in Nigeria to counter such killings.
Earlier this year, the United States returned Nigeria to its list of countries of “particular concern” on religious freedom grounds and imposed restrictions on visa issuance to Nigerians.