The United States launched airstrikes on Islamic State targets in northwestern Nigeria on Thursday, President Donald Trump announced in a social media post, fulfilling threats he had made in recent weeks to use military force against groups he accused of killing Christians in the region.
“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Christmas Day.
Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the strikes in a statement. Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar and Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke multiple times prior to the strike, a U.S. official confirms to MS NOW. During an interview, Tuggar said Nigeria provided extensive intelligence to the U.S. and that Nigerian President Bola Tinubu gave the “go ahead.”
Islamic State affiliates have been active in northwestern Nigeria, carrying out attacks that have killed both Christians and Muslims. The groups have targeted villages, security forces and civilians across the region, contributing to a broader security crisis in Nigeria that includes kidnappings and other forms of violence.
U.S. Africa Command, or AFRICOM, said in a statement that the strikes were conducted in Sokoto State “in coordination with Nigerian authorities.” The military’s initial assessment concluded that “multiple” Islamic State fighters were killed in the strikes, though it did not provide a specific number.
AFRICOM is “working with Nigerian and regional partners to increase counterterrorism cooperation efforts related to on-going violence and threats against innocent lives,” said Gen. Dagvin Anderson, head of the command. “Our goal is to protect Americans and to disrupt violent extremist organizations wherever they are.”
The strikes follow weeks of rhetoric from Trump about violence against Christians in Nigeria. In November, he threatened strikes on the nation, suggested U.S. forces would enter Nigeria “guns-a-blazing” and labeled Nigeria a “country of particular concern.” “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,” Trump wrote Thursday. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that additional strikes could follow. “The President was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end,” Hegseth posted on X, later adding that he was “[g]rateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation.” The strikes marked the second time in a week that Trump authorized military action against Islamic State militants. Last week, American forces launched dozens of airstrikes against ISIS targets in Syria in response to the killing of two U.S. Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter in an ambush.
Ebony Davis is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. Recommended
