President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that U.S. forces had conducted a series of airstrikes against Islamic State militants in northwest Nigeria, describing the operation as a “powerful and deadly” response to the group’s attacks, which he said primarily targeted innocent Christians.
The strikes, carried out in coordination with Nigerian authorities and involving cruise missiles launched from a U.S. Navy ship, hit ISIS camps in Sokoto State.
Trump framed the action as fulfilling prior warnings amid his ongoing criticism of violence against Christian communities in the country.U.S. Africa Command confirmed multiple militants were killed, while Nigerian officials emphasized the joint counterterrorism effort without endorsing claims of targeted religious persecution.
In a Christmas evening post on his social media platform, Trump offered no operational details and did not specify the scale of damage inflicted or the number of militants targeted in the operation.
A U.S. Defense Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the information has not been publicly disclosed, confirmed that the strikes were conducted in coordination with Nigerian authorities. According to the official, the operation was approved by Nigeria’s government, underscoring ongoing security cooperation between Washington and Abuja in the fight against extremist groups operating in West Africa.
Islamic State-affiliated groups, primarily the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), remain active across northern Nigeria, with a stronghold in the northeast around the Lake Chad Basin and emerging presence in northwestern areas such as Sokoto State. The region continues to grapple with longstanding insurgency, banditry, and clashes exacerbated by sectarian tensions, resulting in thousands of deaths and widespread displacement over the past decade.
