The United States conducted a powerful military strike against Islamic State (ISIS) targets in Nigeria on Christmas Day, ordered by President Donald Trump. The action followed weeks of condemnation by the president regarding attacks on Christians in the African nation.
President Trump announced the attack on Truth Social, stating that acting as Commander-in-Chief, he had directed a “powerful and lethal attack against the ISIS terrorists in Northwestern Nigeria, who are targeting and brutally murdering, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen in many years, even centuries!” The US Department of War subsequently released video footage showing the launch of Tomahawk missiles from a US aircraft carrier.
.@POTUS “Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and… pic.twitter.com/ct7rUW128t
— Department of War 🇺🇸 (@DeptofWar) December 26, 2025
Trump added: “I had previously warned these terrorists that if they didn’t stop the slaughter of Christians, they would pay a heavy price, and tonight, that happened.” He said the Department of War executed numerous perfect attacks “as only the United States is capable of doing,” and warned there would be more “dead terrorists” if the “slaughter of Christians” continued.
US Africa Command (AFRICOM) announced that the strike took place in Sokoto state, which borders Niger in northern Nigeria, in coordination with Nigerian authorities. AFRICOM’s initial assessment was that “many ISIS terrorists were killed in the Islamic State camps.”
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stated he was “grateful for the support and cooperation of the Nigerian government.” Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the attacks occurred within the framework of ongoing security cooperation with the US, which includes intelligence sharing and strategic coordination to combat militant groups. “This led to precise attacks against terrorist targets in Nigeria with air strikes in the northwestern part of the country,” the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a post on X.
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nigeria 🇳🇬 (@NigeriaMFA) December 26, 2025
Previously, Trump had said he would initiate an “intense” US military intervention in Nigeria, arguing that the country’s government had not made sufficient efforts to prevent attacks against Christians by Islamist groups.
The Guardian noted that Nigeria is officially a secular country, but its population is nearly equally divided between Muslims (53%) and Christians (45%). Violence against Christians has drawn significant international attention, especially among the American right, and has often been characterised as religious persecution. However, the Nigerian government rejects the description of violence in the country as religious persecution, having stated previously that armed groups target both Muslims and Christians. The government asserts that US claims that Christians face persecution do not represent a complex security situation and ignore efforts to safeguard religious freedom. Nonetheless, the government has agreed in the past to collaborate with the US to reinforce its forces against militant groups.
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