United States President Donald Trump said American forces carried out “powerful and deadly” strikes against Islamic State fighters in northwestern Nigeria on Thursday, following his warning to the group to halt the killing of Christians in the country.
The Department of Defense confirmed that “multiple ISIS terrorists” were killed in the operation, which it said was carried out at the request of Nigerian authorities, though it offered limited details.
According to Trump, the strikes targeted IS 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,” he said in a post 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 also said on X that it conducted a strike “at the request of Nigerian authorities in (Sokoto state) killing multiple ISIS terrorists.”
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth likewise posted on X, commending his department’s readiness to act in Nigeria and noting he was “grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation.”
The Nigerian government has officially confirmed that the United States military carried out “precision hits on terrorist targets in Nigeria by air strikes.”
This confirmation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs comes shortly “after US President Donald Trump announced the operation” directed at Islamic State militants located in the country’s northwestern region.
“Nigerian authorities remain engaged in structured security cooperation with international partners, including the United States of America, in addressing the persistent threat of terrorism and violent extremism,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement released early on Friday.
“This has led to precision hits on terrorist targets in Nigeria by air strikes,” in the country’s northwest, it added.
The photos below capture scenes of bomb explosions in Jabo village, Sokoto State, on Thursday, shortly after President Donald Trump announced that the US military had launched an attack on ISIS targets in Nigeria on his orders.
Villagers said there were no casualties in the Jabo explosion as they trooped to the scenes of the explosions.
See photos below:
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