Christmas Day Airstrikes Target Islamic State Terrorists in Sokoto
WASHINGTON/ABUJA — The United States carried out airstrikes against Islamic State (ISIS) militants in northwest Nigeria on Dec. 25, President Donald Trump announced, saying the operation was a response to what he described as brutal attacks on Christian communities in the West African nation.
Trump, in a post on his social media platform, called the strikes “powerful and deadly,” saying they targeted terrorists who had been “viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians” in Nigeria. He said he had previously warned that there would be “hell to pay” if the violence did not stop.
“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, accusing the group of carrying out killings “at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!”
The United States Africa Command confirmed that the strikes were launched in coordination with the Nigerian government and approved by Abuja, with both sides emphasizing intelligence sharing and joint action against violent extremist groups. The operation targeted Islamic State-linked positions, and U.S. forces reported that multiple ISIS fighters were killed in the strikes.
The New York Times continues:
The strike involved more than a dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles fired off a Navy ship in the Gulf of Guinea, hitting insurgents in two ISIS camps in northwest Nigeria’s Sokoto State, according to a U.S. military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters. The operation was done in coordination with the Nigerian military, the official said.
“U.S. Africa Command is working with our Nigerian and regional partners to increase counter terrorism cooperation efforts related to ongoing violence and threats against innocent lives,” Gen. Dagvin Anderson, the commander of U.S. Africa Command, said in a statement. “Our goal is to protect Americans and disrupt violent extremist organizations wherever they are.”
The attack occurred in a region along the border with Niger, where a branch of ISIS called the Islamic State-Sahel has been attacking both government forces and civilians, according to Caleb Weiss, a counterterrorism analyst and editor with FDD’s Long War Journal.
The U.S. operation inside Africa’s most populous nation followed months of growing allegations by Christian evangelical groups and senior Republicans that Christians were being targeted in widespread violence.
The area has endured years of sustained insurgent violence, with the conflict stretching back more than a decade and claiming the lives of thousands of civilians from both Christian and Muslim communities. Nigerian authorities have rejected assertions that the violence amounts to a campaign of genocide against Christians, emphasizing instead that a fragmented array of armed groups — each with distinct objectives and operating across different regions — has targeted civilians regardless of faith.
Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, characterized the recent action as a coordinated counterterrorism effort carried out in partnership with the United States. In remarks to the BBC, Tuggar said the operation relied on shared intelligence and careful planning, underscoring that it was not aimed at any religious group. His comments came as U.S. officials described elements of the mission as part of a broader response to extremist attacks against civilians.
The U.S. and Nigerian governments characterized the strike as part of ongoing security cooperation aimed at degrading terrorist capabilities and enhancing regional stability, underscoring a sustained partnership against transnational threats in West Africa.
