US launches strikes on ISIS targets in Nigeria, Trump says

The US launched strikes on ISIS targets in Nigeria on Thursday, President Trump said.

“Tonight, under my direction as Commander-in-Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against the ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwestern Nigeria, who have been targeting and brutally killing, in particular, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for years, even centuries!” Mr. Trump wrote on his social network Truth Social. “I warned these terrorists before that if they don’t stop the slaughter of Christians, there will be hell to pay, and tonight, there is.”

Mr. Trump did not provide any other details about the strikes, such as how many people were killed, who or what was specifically targeted, and how many strikes were carried out, other than to say that “it was a lot of total strikes.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth later wrote on X: “The President was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must stop.” @DeptofWar is always right, so ISIS got it tonight – on Christmas. More to come… Thank you for the support and cooperation of the Nigerian government.”

The Ministry of Defense also posted on its X account an unseen 9-second video that appears to show a missile being launched from a warship.

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In its statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nigeria acknowledged the strikes and indicated that it had been given advanced notice, saying that “Nigerian authorities are still engaged in systematic security cooperation with international partners, including the United States of America, in dealing with the ongoing threat of terrorism and violence. This has led to precise terrorist attacks in Nigeria through airstrikes in the North West.”

At the beginning of November, Mr. Trump he said he ordered the Pentagon to “prepare possible action” in Nigeria after accusing the Nigerian government of not doing enough to combat the persecution of Christians there.

“If we attack, it will be fast, nasty and fun, just as terrorist criminals attack our KNOWING Christians! Mr. Trump wrote on Nov. 1.

In response at the time, Hegseth wrote on social media that the “Army Department” — the Trump administration’s preferred term for the Department of Defense — “is preparing to take action.”

This is coming almost a week after the US carried out a series of strikes on ISIS targets in Syria in response to the killing of two US soldiers and a translator.

Mr. Trump also said in November that he would designate Nigeria as a “country of greatest concern.”

Designating a “country of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 is an executive privilege that often follows recommendations from the US Congress-authorized Commission on International Religious Freedom and the State Department.

The State Department usually releases its annual International Religious Freedom Report in the spring, but it has not done so this year. The report may or may not include words of “special concern”, which can be done at any time. Also, such words, which authorize US sanctions, do not include sanctions.

The Nigerian government dismissed Mr. Trump says he is not doing enough to protect Christians from violence. Analysts say that although Christians are among those targeted, most victims of armed groups they are Muslims in northern Nigeria, where most of them are attacked.

Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu earlier said on social media that the appearance of Nigeria as a religiously intolerant country does not reflect the reality of the country.

“Religious freedom and tolerance have been central to our identity and will remain so,” Tinubu said. “Nigeria opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it. Nigeria is a country with constitutional guarantees to protect citizens of all religions.”

Nigeria was first listed as a “country of particular concern” by the US in 2020 for what the State Department called “systematic violations of religious freedom.” But this word did not indicate an attack on Christians. The appointment was proposed in 2023 in what many saw as a way to improve relations between the countries ahead of a visit by then Secretary of State Antony Blinken.