President Donald Trump announced that the United States carried out airstrikes against Islamic State militants in northwest Nigeria on Christmas Day, saying the operation targeted extremists he accused of attacking civilians, particularly Christians. The strikes come shortly after separate U.S. military action against ISIS positions in Syria, launched in response to an attack earlier this month that killed American service members and an interpreter. Details about casualties, specific targets, or the full scope of the operation were not immediately released. The White House said additional information would be provided later.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump described the action as a decisive military operation, writing that a “powerful and deadly strike” had been launched against ISIS elements in the region. He said the militants had been “targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians.” The president added that the strikes followed earlier warnings to the group: “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. The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing,” Trump wrote.
Hegseth echoed the president’s remarks after the strikes, posting on X that there would be “more to come” and thanking Nigerian authorities for their cooperation. He wrote: “The President was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end. The @DeptofWar is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight — on Christmas.” He concluded his message with, “Merry Christmas!”
U.S. Africa Command later confirmed the operation, stating that the strikes were conducted “in coordination with Nigerian authorities.” The Pentagon also shared an unclassified short video appearing to show a missile launch from a naval vessel. A U.S. defense official said the attacks hit multiple militants at known ISIS camps.
Nigerian officials acknowledged the strikes and said they were part of an ongoing security partnership with Washington. A spokesperson for Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the two countries are engaged in structured counterterrorism cooperation, including intelligence sharing and strategic coordination, which led to “precision hits on terrorist targets in Nigeria by air strikes in the North West.”
The announcement followed weeks of escalating rhetoric. In early November, Trump posted a video threatening to intervene in Nigeria “guns-a-blazing” and later said he had directed the Pentagon to prepare for possible military action. At the time, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly confirmed that the Department of Defense was “preparing for action.” Days after his November warnings, the U.S. State Department redesignated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” under U.S. law for alleged “severe violations of religious freedom.” Nigeria was also recently added to a U.S. travel ban list imposing partial entry restrictions.
Nigeria’s population is roughly divided between a Muslim-majority north and a predominantly Christian south Nigerian leaders have pushed back on claims that the country is religiously intolerant. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has acknowledged violence but said such portrayals “does not reflect our national reality.” On Christmas Eve, Tinubu posted that he prayed “for peace in our land, 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.”
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