US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the United States had carried out military strikes in northwest Nigeria targeting Islamic State militants, citing attacks on Christian communities.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Christmas Day, Trump said the US had launched what he described as a “powerful and deadly strike” against Islamic State fighters, accusing the group of “targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians".
Trump said he had warned the militants to halt the attacks or there would be "hell to pay".
“And tonight, there was,” he wrote.
He said the Department of Defense had carried out “numerous strikes” and vowed that under his leadership the US would not allow “radical Islamic terrorism to prosper".
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday that he was “grateful for Nigerian government support and cooperation” in the operation, adding a Christmas greeting in a post on X.
The US Department of Defense also released a video that appeared to show a missile launch from a naval vessel.
Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar told the BBC the strikes were part of a joint operation and said they were “not about any particular religion".
In a statement, Nigeria’s foreign ministry said the country remained engaged in “structured security cooperation with international partners, including the United States,” to counter terrorism and violent extremism.
The ministry said the cooperation had resulted in “precision air strikes on terrorist targets in northwest Nigeria".
