PALM BEACH, Florida – The US has carried out an air strike against ISIS militants in north-west Nigeria at the request of Nigeria’s government, President Donald Trump and the US military said on Dec 25, claiming the group had been targeting Christians in the region.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, the US leader said: “Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS terrorist scum in north-west Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even centuries!”
The US military’s Africa Command said the strike was carried out in Sokoto state in coordination with the Nigerian authorities and killed multiple ISIS militants.
Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar told the BBC that the strike was a “joint operation” targeting “terrorists”, and it “has nothing to do with a particular religion”.
Without naming ISIS specifically, Mr Tuggar said the operation had been planned “for quite some time” and had used intelligence information provided by the Nigerian side.
He did not rule out further strikes, adding that this depended on “decisions to be taken by the leadership of the two countries”.
The strike comes after Mr Trump, since late October, began warning that
Christianity faces an “existential threat” in Nigeria
and threatened to intervene militarily in the West African country over what he says is its failure to stop violence targeting Christian communities.
Reuters reported on Dec 22 that the US had been conducting intelligence-gathering flights over large parts of Nigeria since late November.
Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry said the strikes were carried out as part of ongoing security cooperation with the US, involving intelligence sharing and strategic coordination to target militant groups.
“This has led to precision hits on terrorist targets in Nigeria by air strikes in the north-west,” the ministry said in a post on X.
A video posted by the Pentagon showed at least one projectile being launched from a warship.
A US defence official said the strike targeted multiple militants at known ISIS camps.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on X thanked the Nigerian government for its support and cooperation and said: “More to come…”
Nigeria’s government has said armed groups target both Muslims and Christians, and US claims that Christians face persecution do not reflect a complex security situation and ignore efforts to safeguard religious freedom.
But it has agreed to work with the US to bolster its forces against militant groups.
The country’s population is split between Muslims living primarily in the north and Christians in the south.
“(The Pentagon) worked with the government of Nigeria to carry out these strikes. These strikes were approved by the government of Nigeria,” a Pentagon official said.
The police said earlier on Dec 25 that a
suspected suicide bomber killed at least five people
and injured 35 others in Nigeria’s north-east, another region troubled by Islamist insurgents.
In a Christmas message posted on X earlier, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu called for peace in his country, “especially between individuals of differing religious beliefs”.
“I stand committed to doing everything within my power to enshrine religious freedom in Nigeria and to protect Christians, Muslims, and all Nigerians from violence,” he added.
Mr Trump issued his statement on the strike on Christmas Day while he was at his Palm Beach, Florida, Mar-a-Lago club, where he has been spending the holiday.
He had no public events during the day and was last seen by the reporters travelling with him on the night of Dec 24.
The US military last week launched separate large-scale strikes against dozens of ISIS targets in Syria after Mr Trump vowed to hit back in the wake of a suspected ISIS attack on US personnel in the country. REUTERS
Thomas Howe
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