Abuja (TDI): US forces carried out airstrikes on Islamic State (IS) targets in northwestern Nigeria on Thursday, President Donald Trump announced, describing the attacks as “powerful and deadly.”
The strikes follow his recent warnings against systemic attacks on Christians in the country. The Nigerian Foreign Ministry confirmed the airstrikes early Friday, calling them “precision hits on terrorist targets.”
According to the US Africa Command, several ISIS militants were killed in Sokoto state during an operation conducted at Nigeria’s request, though the exact number of casualties has not been released.
Trump said the strikes were a response to attacks on Christians in Nigeria. In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said, “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 added, “May God Bless our Military… MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists.”
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The airstrikes are the first US military action in Nigeria under Trump’s administration. They follow a series of comments by the president in October and November in which he described the plight of Christians in Nigeria as an “existential threat” amounting to “genocide.” While some welcomed Trump’s stance, critics warned it risked inflaming religious tensions in Africa’s most populous country.
Nigeria’s government and independent analysts have repeatedly rejected framing the country’s ongoing violence purely in religious terms, emphasizing instead the multifaceted nature of the conflict. The Foreign Ministry stressed ongoing security cooperation with international partners, including the United States, in combating terrorism and violent extremism.
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The strikes come amid a backdrop of long-standing insecurity in Nigeria. The northeast has faced over 15 years of violence from Boko Haram, which has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced two million, while criminal gangs in the northwest, north, and central regions continue attacks, including kidnappings and killings. A mosque explosion in Maiduguri on Wednesday killed at least seven worshippers, though no group claimed responsibility.
