There are indications that American troops might be deployed on the ground following the United States’ recent airstrikes against ISIS targets, according to a Nigerian government official.
Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister stated that his government is open to the possibility of collaborating with U.S. military forces, an idea that former President Donald Trump has floated in recent weeks.
When asked by CNN about Trump’s recent threats to deploy American troops in Nigeria, Nigerian official Yusuf Tuggar mentioned that such a decision would be one for the Nigerian government to “consider.”
The Pentagon announced on Thursday that the Nigerian government had authorized the airstrikes and worked in conjunction with the U.S. military to execute them.
However, the Nigerian official also challenged Trump’s rationale for the strikes. The former president claimed they were necessary because ISIS terrorists in Nigeria have been “targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians.”
Tuggar dismissed the notion that the conflict is religiously motivated. He emphasized that the military action is clearly aimed at combating terrorism, stating it is about safeguarding Nigerian citizens and innocent lives, not about religion.
‘When you try to reduce it to just say, “Oh, no, it’s Muslims killing Christians in Nigeria,” you see how you can get it completely wrong. It’s a regional conflict,’ he told Nigerian broadcaster Channels Television on Friday.
Donald Trump announced a ‘powerful and deadly’ Christmas Day strike on ISIS ‘terrorist scum’ in Nigeria and warned that radicals will continue to pay for the persecution of Christians
A video posted by the Pentagon showed at least one projectile launched from a warship. A US defense official said the strike targeted multiple militants at known ISIS camps
Trump announced the ‘powerful and deadly’ strike on ISIS ‘terrorist scum’ in Nigeria on Christmas Day, and warned that radicals will continue to pay for the persecution of Christians.
The President, who previously threatened to send the US military to the West African nation ‘guns-a-blazing,’ made the announcement in a Truth Social post Thursday evening.
‘Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!’ he wrote.
Nigeria’s foreign ministry said the strikes were carried out as part of ongoing security cooperation with the United States, involving intelligence sharing and strategic coordination to target militant groups.
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has also said that the country ‘welcomes’ the American help.
But there is a sense the government publicly cooperated with the US to avert humiliating unilateral military action threatened a month ago by Trump.
The strikes divided opinions in Congress, as Democrat Representative Debbie Dingell said Congress received ‘very little’ information on Trump’s move.
Dingell described the lack of information sharing from the White House as a ‘continuing pattern,’ and said she believes it is Congress that ‘needs to be making a lot of these decisions about escalating.’
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has said that the country ‘welcomes’ the US help
Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton, who has been a top defender of Trump’s strikes on Venezuelan drug boats, praised the actions in Nigeria.
‘I commend President Trump, Secretary Hegseth, and our brave troops for these strikes against bloodthirsty ISIS savages who are not only persecuting Christians, but also have killed many Americans,’ Cotton, a former army officer who is chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, wrote on X.
Nebraska Republican Congressman Don Bacon celebrated US strikes on ISIS as well, calling the military action ‘right’ despite criticizing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s attacks on Venezuela earlier this month.
Brad Brandon, chief executive of Across Nigeria, exclusively told the Daily Mail that ‘members of Congress criticizing the President’s counterterrorism actions in Nigeria demonstrate a fundamental misunderstanding of the situation on the ground,’ and that ‘their hostility toward President Trump has clouded objective judgment.’
‘There is no doubt that this action was fully justified and that the use of US military capabilities disrupted ISIS’s ability to continue massacring innocent civilians,’ Brandon added.
A US defense official said the strikes hit multiple militants at known ISIS camps.
Trump said in his lengthy post that the targets have had it coming for some time.
‘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.’
‘The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing. Under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper,’ Trump added.
Nigeria has been roiled by internal violence in the wake of a jihadist insurgency spearheaded by extremist group Boko Haram in the northeast since 2009
The President signed off with a warning for the terrorists that they will continue to pay if the murder of innocent Christians goes on.
‘May God Bless our Military, and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues.’
The President’s post did not include information about how the strike was carried out and what effects it had. The White House did not immediately provide further details.
Hegseth affirmed the president’s message in a social media post of his own.
He wrote: ‘The President was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end.
‘The Department of War is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight — on Christmas. More to come… Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!’
