U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said the military has intensified operations against Islamic State militants in Nigeria, citing concerns about attacks on Christians in the country.
Speaking during a Cabinet meeting hosted by President Donald Trump at the White House, Hegseth said the president had directed the Defense Department to focus on protecting Christians in Nigeria, where they make up roughly half the population.
“Maybe a year ago, [the president] heard the call of Nigerian Christians who were being targeted and killed by ISIS. … And he said, 'Pete, I want the War Department to focus on ensuring that we do everything we can to protect those Christians,'” Hegseth said.
Nigeria has faced years of violence from multiple armed groups, including Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), Boko Haram, criminal gangs, and Fulani militant groups. Christian advocacy organizations have frequently raised concerns about attacks targeting Christian communities, while analysts note that both Christians and Muslims have been victims of the country's insecurity.
Hegseth said that over the past month, U.S. forces had killed a senior Islamic State commander.
“And, over the past month — and there hasn't been much coverage of this — we killed ISIS' No. 2 [commander], who was most responsible for killing Christians and trying to target the U.S. homeland,” he said.
On May 16, U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) announced that U.S. forces had conducted an operation against Islamic State elements in northeastern Nigeria at the direction of the president and defense secretary.
According to AFRICOM, an initial assessment found that multiple militants were killed, including Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described as the Islamic State's director of global operations, along with other senior leaders.
“The command's initial assessment is that multiple terrorists, to include Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, the director of global operations for ISIS, as well as other senior ISIS leaders, were killed during this operation. No U.S. service members were harmed,” the statement said.
AFRICOM did not specifically describe the operation as one focused on protecting Christians, instead characterizing it as part of broader counterterrorism efforts in partnership with Nigerian forces.
“This operation underscores the exceptional value of the U.S.-Nigeria partnership and was made possible through the cooperation and coordination of our forces in recent months,” AFRICOM commander Air Force Gen. Dagvin Anderson said.
“Make no mistake, our two nations will relentlessly pursue and neutralize terrorist threats and are committed to protecting our people and interests,” he added.
Hegseth said intelligence gathered during the campaign had contributed to the deaths of “hundreds” of Islamic State fighters.
He concluded by praising Trump's role in directing the effort.
“There's a lot of things we do … and a lot of things the president empowers the department to do on behalf of the American people that he deserves great credit for,” Hegseth said.
