Former US President Donald Trump has announced that the United States carried out a “powerful and deadly strike” against the Islamic State (IS) group in north-western Nigeria, describing the operation as part of a broader effort to confront extremist violence in the region.
Trump referred to IS as “terrorist scum”, accusing the militants of “targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians”.
He said the US military “executed numerous perfect strikes”, while the US Africa Command (Africom) later confirmed that Thursday’s operation took place in co-ordination with Nigerian authorities in Sokoto state.
Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar told the BBC that it was a “joint operation” focused on “terrorists”, stressing that it “has nothing to do with a particular religion”.
He also declined to rule out future strikes, saying this would depend on “decisions to be taken by the leadership of the two countries”.
In a post on Truth Social late on Thursday, Trump declared that “under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper”. He had earlier instructed the US military in November to prepare for possible action in Nigeria against Islamist militant organisations.
At the time, he did not specify which incidents of violence he was referring to, although claims of a genocide against Christians in Nigeria have recently circulated among some right-wing groups in the US.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday that he was “grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation”, adding “Merry Christmas!” in a post on X.
The US Department of Defense later released an unclassified short video appearing to show a missile launch from a military vessel linked to the operation.
On Friday morning, Nigeria’s foreign ministry issued a statement reaffirming that the country “remain engaged in structured security co-operation with international partners, including the United States of America, in addressing the persistent threat of terrorist and violent extremism.”
“This has led to precision hits on terrorist targets in Nigeria by air strikes in the North West,” the statement said.
Monitoring groups say there is no evidence that Christians are being killed at higher rates than Muslims in Nigeria, where the population is roughly split between the two faiths.
An adviser to President Bola Tinubu previously told the BBC that any action against jihadist groups should be coordinated jointly. Daniel Bwala said Nigeria welcomed US support in tackling Islamist insurgents, but emphasised that the country was “sovereign”.
He added that jihadist groups were not targeting people of a single religion, saying victims included individuals of all faiths and none. President Tinubu has also insisted that religious tolerance exists in Nigeria and said security challenges affect people “across faiths and regions”.
Trump earlier announced that he had declared Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” due to what he described as the “existential threat” facing its Christian population, claiming that “thousands” had been killed, but without presenting evidence.
The designation, used by the US State Department, allows for sanctions against governments “engaged in severe violations of religious freedom”.
Following the announcement, Tinubu said his administration remained committed to working with the US and the wider international community to protect citizens of all religious backgrounds.
For more than a decade, jihadist groups including Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province have carried out attacks in north-eastern Nigeria, killing thousands of people — most of whom have been Muslims, according to political-violence tracker Acled.
In central regions, longstanding clashes between largely Muslim herders and predominantly Christian farming communities over land and water have also driven cycles of retaliatory violence, with atrocities reported on both sides.
Human rights organisations continue to say there is no evidence that Christians are being disproportionately targeted.
The announcement comes days after the US said it had carried out a “massive strike” against IS in Syria.
US Central Command (Centcom) reported that fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery “struck more than 70 targets at multiple locations across central Syria”, with aircraft from Jordan also participating in the operation.
