US carries out strikes on Nigeria targeting Islamic State militants, Trump says | Trump administration
The United States has launched airstrikes against Islamic State militants in northwestern Nigeria, Donald Trump said, after weeks of condemning the group for targeting Christians.
In a post on the Truth Social platform, the President said: “Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly offensive against the ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, primarily targeting and brutally murdering innocent Christians, at levels not seen in years, even centuries!
“I had previously warned these Terrorists that there would be hell to pay if they did not stop the slaughter of Christians, and tonight it happened. The War Department carried out many excellent attacks as only the United States can.”
The US military’s Africa Command said the attack was carried out at the request of Nigerian authorities and that many militants were killed. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said he was “grateful for the Nigerian government’s support + cooperation.”
Nigeria’s foreign ministry said the attacks were carried out as part of ongoing security cooperation with the United States, which includes intelligence sharing and strategic coordination to target militant groups. “This has led to precision striking of terrorist targets in Nigeria through airstrikes in the North West,” the ministry said in a post on channel X.
Trump had previously announced that he would launch a US military intervention in Nigeria with “firearms” and claimed that the country’s government was inadequate in its efforts to prevent attacks by Islamist groups against Christians.
Nigeria is officially a secular country, but its population is almost evenly divided between Muslims (53%) and Christians (45%). Violence against Christians has received significant international attention, particularly among segments of the religious right in America, and is often framed as religious persecution.
But the Nigerian government refuses to frame the country’s violence in terms of religious persecution, saying armed groups have targeted both Muslims and Christians in the past and that U.S. claims that Christians are being persecuted do not represent a complex security situation and ignore efforts to protect religious freedom. However, the government had previously agreed to work with the US to strengthen its forces against militant groups.
Many analysts say the situation is complex and has deep roots in the region’s history. In some parts of the country, conflicts between wandering Muslim shepherds and predominantly Christian farming communities arise from competition for land and water.
Priests and priests are being kidnapped for ransom, but some experts say this may be a trend driven by criminal incentives rather than religious discrimination.
Positioning himself as a “peace candidate” in 2024, Trump ran his campaign on the promise of saving the USA from “endless wars” that have been going on for decades. But his first year back in the White House was notable for the number of overseas military interventions, such as attacks on Yemen, Iran, Syria and others, as well as a massive military buildup targeting Venezuela in the Caribbean.
