Trump launches ‘powerful and deadly’ strike on ISIS in Nigeria and warns of more if attacks persist

Donald Trump announced he would launch a ‘powerful and deadly’ strike against the ISIS ‘terrorist scum’ in Nigeria on Christmas Day and warned radicals will continue to pay the price for persecuting Christians.

The president, who had previously threatened to send the US military into the West African country with ‘firearms’, made the announcement on Truth Social on Thursday evening.

‘Tonight, at my direction as Commander-in-Chief, the United States launched a powerful and lethal offensive against the ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, primarily targeting and brutally murdering innocent Christians, at levels not seen in many years, even centuries!’ he wrote.

A spokesperson for the Pentagon confirmed to the Daily Mail that the Nigerian government had approved the attacks and was working with the US military.

In his long post, Trump said that ISIS militants have been waiting for this for a while.

‘I had previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughter of Christians there would be hell to pay, and tonight it happened.’

It is not yet clear how many people were killed or injured in the attack.

‘The War Department has carried out countless brilliant attacks that only the United States could do. “Under my leadership, our country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to thrive,” Trump added.

The president had previously threatened to send the US military into the West African country with ‘firearms’

The President warned that terrorists will continue to pay the price if the killing of innocent Christians continues.

‘May God bless our Army and I wish HAPPY HOLIDAYS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of whom there will be many more if the massacre of Christians continues.’

While the president’s post did not include information about how the attack was carried out and what its effects were, the White House did not provide further details.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the president’s message in his own social media post.

‘The President was clear last month: The killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end. @DeptofWar is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight, on Christmas. More to come… We are grateful for the support and cooperation of the Nigerian government. Merry christmas!’

Nigeria has been rocked by internal violence since 2009 following a jihadist insurgency led by the northeastern extremist group Boko Haram.

In November, Trump threatened to take on terrorists ‘with firearms’.

Trump, 79, had already described Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” but after hearing about the situation on Fox News, he took his condemnation of the situation in the country even further, threatening to cut aid and even send in US troops.

Nigeria has been rocked by internal violence since 2009 following a jihadist insurgency led by the northeastern extremist group Boko Haram.

Trump, 79, had already described Nigeria as a ‘country of particular concern’ but went further in his condemnation of the situation in the country after hearing it on Fox News.

Some Christian communities welcomed the US president’s threat, believing that foreign armies were needed to restore peace in their countries.

Amidst various forms of bloodshed, including ethnic rivalry and banditry across the country, Islamist militants are slaughtering Christians as well as Muslims whom they deem ‘apostates’ for not conforming to their brand of Islam.

There was also a separate attack by Fulani Muslim tribes against mostly Christian farming communities; a protracted crisis linked to complex issues such as religion, ethnicity, and conflict over the dwindling supply of arable land.

Although Christians were among those targeted, analysts say the majority of victims of armed groups in Nigeria’s Muslim-majority north, where most of the attacks occurred, were Muslims, according to the Associated Press.

Trump’s threat, which came after watching a Fox News segment on the conflict in Nigeria, triggered alarm bells in West Africa.

Unnamed sources at US Africa Command (AFRICOM), which manages American military operations on the continent, told the Washington Post that Trump’s announcement raises concerns.

The leaders said it was unlikely that a US military operation would make a difference in a region with little US intelligence and called for their sovereignty to be respected.

“We welcome US aid as long as it recognizes our territorial integrity,” Daniel Bwala, an advisor to President Tinubu, told Reuters.

Trump’s explosive announcement also came via Truth Social.

“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the United States will immediately cease all aid and aid to Nigeria and may well go into this country with the now infamous, ‘firearms’ to completely eliminate the Islamic Terrorists who are committing this horrific atrocity,” he wrote.

‘I instruct our Ministry of War to prepare for possible actions.

‘If we attack, it will be fast, fierce and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attacked our VALUED Christians! WARNING: THE NIGERIA GOVERNMENT BETTER ACT FAST!’

Bwala sought to downplay tensions between the two states despite Trump calling Nigeria a ‘disgraceful country’.

“We don’t take it literally because we know Donald Trump thinks well of Nigeria,” Bwala said.

“I am sure that when these two leaders come together and sit down, better results will be achieved from our common determination to fight terrorism,” he said.

Nigeria, home to more than 200 million people and nearly 200 ethnic groups, is divided between the mostly Muslim north and the mostly Christian south.

Islamist insurgents such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province have wreaked havoc in the country for more than 15 years, killing thousands of people, but their attacks have been largely confined to the predominantly Muslim northeast of the country.

Analysts say Christians were killed, but the vast majority of victims were Muslims.

In central Nigeria, there are frequent clashes between mostly Muslim herders and mostly Christian farmers over access to water and pasture, while in the country’s northwest, gunmen routinely attack villages and kidnap residents for ransom.

Bwala said Nigeria “does not discriminate against any tribe or religion in the fight against insecurity.” ‘There is no Christian genocide.’

In mid-December, Trump included the country on a list of 15 countries facing a partial travel ban to the United States in response to anti-Christian violence in Nigeria.

“The United States is taking decisive action in response to mass murder and violence against Christians by radical Islamic terrorists, Fulani ethnic militias, and other violent actors in Nigeria and beyond,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.