United States President Donald Trump has said American forces carried out what he described as “powerful and deadly” airstrikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in northwestern Nigeria on Thursday, following his warning to the group to stop killing Christians in the country.
According to the US Department of Defense, the operation, conducted at the request of Nigerian authorities, resulted in the killing of “multiple ISIS terrorists,” although specific operational details were not disclosed.
Trump said the strikes targeted Islamic State positions on Christmas Day.
“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 on his Truth Social platform.
“May God Bless our Military,” he added, saying, “MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues.”
The US Africa Command (AFRICOM) also confirmed the operation in a post on X, stating that it conducted a strike “at the request of Nigerian authorities in (Sokoto state) killing multiple ISIS terrorists.”
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth praised the military action, saying on X that he was “grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation,” and commended the Pentagon’s readiness to respond to security threats in the region.
The strikes mark the first known US military action in Nigeria since Trump’s return to office. They follow remarks made by the US president in October and November, during which he accused Nigeria of allowing an “existential threat” to Christians that he described as “genocide.”
Those comments sparked mixed reactions, with some welcoming Washington’s diplomatic pressure, while others warned that such rhetoric could inflame religious tensions in Africa’s most populous nation, which has a history of sectarian violence.
Nigeria’s government and several independent analysts have repeatedly rejected framing the country’s security challenges as religious persecution, arguing that the violence is driven largely by terrorism, banditry and criminal insurgency rather than faith-based targeting.
Despite this, Trump has continued to highlight what his administration describes as global persecution of Christians, stressing that the United States is prepared to take military action where necessary.
Earlier this year, the United States placed Nigeria back on its list of countries of “particular concern” over religious freedom and imposed restrictions on the issuance of visas to Nigerian citizens.
