WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – On Thursday night, President Donald Trump announced a significant U.S. military action targeting Islamic State militants in Nigeria, after weeks of criticizing the West African nation for its alleged inability to protect Christians from persecution.
The president took to social media to declare, “Under my command as Commander in Chief, the United States executed a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS terrorists in Northwest Nigeria. These extremists have been aggressively targeting and killing innocent Christians at alarming rates not seen in years, even centuries!”
Details regarding the specifics of the strike and its impact were not disclosed by the president. However, the U.S. Africa Command confirmed on X that the operation was carried out at the request of Nigerian authorities in Soboto State, resulting in the deaths of several ISIS members.
“Our decisive strikes against ISIS underscore the might of our military forces and our unwavering commitment to addressing terrorist threats against Americans both domestically and internationally,” stated the U.S. Africa Command in their post.
The Defense Department has yet to provide further comments on the operation.
Amid Trump’s previous remarks, the Nigerian government has responded by highlighting that various religious communities, not only Christians, have been victims of attacks by extremist groups.
Still, last month, Trump said he’d ordered the Pentagon to begin planning for potential military action in Nigeria following the claims of Christian persecution. The State Department has also announced it would restrict visas for Nigerians and their family members involved in mass killings and violence against Christians in the West African country.
And the U.S. recently designated Nigeria a “country of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act.
“I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was,” Trump wrote in his Christmas night post.
He said that U.S. defense officials had “executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing” and added that “our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper.”
Nigeria’s population of 220 million is split almost equally between Christians and Muslims. The country has long faced insecurity from various fronts including the Boko Haram extremist group, which seeks to establish its radical interpretation of Islamic law and has also targeted Muslims it deems not Muslim enough.
But attacks in Nigeria often have varying motives. There are religiously motivated ones targeting both Christians and Muslims, clashes between farmers and herders over dwindling resources, communal rivalries, secessionist groups and ethnic clashes.
The U.S. security footprint has diminished in Africa, where military partnerships have either been scaled down or canceled. U.S. forces likely would have to be drawn from other parts of the world for any military intervention in Nigeria.
Trump has nonetheless kept up the pressure as Nigeria faced a series of attacks on schools and churches in violence that experts and residents say targets both Christians and Muslims.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted Thursday night on X: “The President was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end.”
Hegseth said that U.S. military forces are “always ready, so ISIS found out tonight — on Christmas” and added, “More to come…Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation” before signing off, “Merry Christmas!”
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