U.S. Strikes ISIS Targets in Northwest Nigeria, Citing Attacks on Christians

The United States launched strikes against Islamic State militants in northwestern Nigeria on Christmas night, President Donald Trump said, after weeks of accusing Nigeria’s government of failing to stop the killing of Christians, CBS News and NBC News reported.

“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, calling the militants “ISIS Terrorist Scum” who had been “viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians.” He called them “numerous perfect strikes” but gave no figures on casualties or targets, CBS News reported.

U.S. Africa Command said its “initial assessment is that multiple ISIS terrorists were killed in the ISIS camps,” and, according to NBC News, said it struck in coordination with Nigerian authorities in Sokoto State. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X that he was grateful for Nigerian government “support & cooperation,” adding, “More to come.” The Pentagon posted a nine-second unclassified video that appeared to show a missile launched from a warship, both outlets reported.

Nigeria’s foreign ministry acknowledged the strikes and indicated it had been given advance notice, CBS News reported, saying Nigerian authorities remain engaged in security cooperation with the United States that “has led to precision hits on terrorist targets in Nigeria by air strikes in the North West.” Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar told the BBC the strike was a “joint operation” that “has nothing to do with a particular religion,” NBC News reported. The cooperation marked a change in tone from Trump’s earlier criticism, NBC News said.

The dispute over how to describe Nigeria’s violence has run since October, when Trump warned that Christianity faces an “existential threat” there and threatened military intervention, NBC News reported. The Nigerian government, as well as experts and scholars, have said Trump’s portrayal is misleading because members of all faiths have suffered at the hands of Islamist extremists. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has about 240 million people split between Christians, Muslims and others, NBC News noted.