US launches ‘powerful strikes’ against Islamic State in Nigeria, Trump says

President Donald Trump said the United States had launched a “powerful and deadly strike” against the Islamic State (IS) group in northwest Nigeria.

The US leader called ISIS “terrorist scum”, accusing the group of “savagely targeting and killing, primarily, innocent Christians”.

Trump said the US military “executed many perfect strikes”, while the US Africa Command (Africom) later reported that Thursday’s attack was carried out in coordination with Nigeria in Sokoto state.

Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar told the BBC it was a “joint operation” targeting “terrorists” and “had nothing to do with any particular religion.”

Without specifically naming IS, Tuggar said the operation had been planned “for some time” and had used information provided by Nigerian intelligence services.

The minister did not rule out further strikes, adding that it depended on “decisions to be taken by the leaders of the two countries.”

In his article on Truth Social Thursday evening, Trump said that “under my leadership, our country will not allow radical Islamic terrorism to flourish.”

In November, Trump ordered the US military to prepare for action in Nigeria to combat Islamist militant groups.

He did not specify at the time which killings he was referring to, but allegations of genocide against Nigeria’s Christians have circulated in some American right-wing circles in recent months.

Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday he was “grateful for the support and cooperation of the Nigerian government.”

“Merry Christmas!” » he added, writing about X.

The US Department of Defense later released a short unclassified video that appeared to show a missile being launched from a military ship.

On Friday morning, Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the country’s authorities “remain committed to structured security cooperation with international partners, including the United States of America, to address the persistent threat of terrorism and violent extremism.”

“This led to precise strikes on terrorist targets in Nigeria through airstrikes in the northwest,” the statement said.

Groups that monitor the violence say there is no evidence to suggest Christians are killed more than Muslims in Nigeria, which is roughly evenly split between followers of the two religions.

An adviser to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu told the BBC at the time that any military action against jihadist groups must be carried out together.

Daniel Bwala said Nigeria would welcome US help to fight Islamist insurgents, but stressed it was a “sovereign” country.

He also said jihadists did not target members of any particular religion and had killed people of all faiths or none at all.

President Tinubu stressed religious tolerance in the country and said security concerns affected people “of all faiths and regions”.

Trump earlier announced that he had declared Nigeria a “country of particular concern” because of the “existential threat” to its Christian population. He claimed that “thousands” had been killed, without providing any evidence.

This is a designation used by the U.S. State Department that provides for sanctions against countries “engaged in serious violations of religious freedom.”

Following the announcement, Tinubu said his government was committed to working with the United States and the international community to protect communities of all faiths.

Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa have wreaked havoc in northeastern Nigeria for more than a decade, killing thousands of people — but most of them were Muslims, according to Acled, a group that analyzes political violence around the world.

In central Nigeria, clashes are also frequent between predominantly Muslim herders and groups of farmers, often Christians, over access to water and pastures.

Deadly cycles of tit-for-tat attacks have also left thousands dead – but atrocities have been committed on both sides.

Human rights groups say there is no evidence that Christians have been disproportionately targeted.

Last week, the United States said it had carried out a “massive strike” against ISIS in Syria,

US Central Command (Centcom) said warplanes, attack helicopters and artillery “struck more than 70 targets in multiple locations across central Syria.” Jordanian planes were also involved.