BREAKING: U.S. Launches ‘Powerful and Deadly’ Airstrikes in Northwest Nigeria

• The United States has launched “powerful and deadly” airstrikes on Islamic State targets in northwest Nigeria, acting at the request of the Nigerian government as both countries deepen security cooperation against militant groups.

The United States has carried out airstrikes against Islamic State (ISIS) militants in northwest Nigeria at the request of the Nigerian government, U.S. President Donald Trump and the U.S. military confirmed on Thursday, saying the group had been targeting Christians in the region.

Announcing the operation in a post on Truth Social, Trump said: “Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched 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 even Centuries!”

He added that U.S. defence officials had “executed numerous perfect strikes.”

The U.S. military’s Africa Command said on X that the airstrikes were carried out at the request of Nigerian authorities and resulted in the killing of multiple ISIS militants in Sokoto State.

U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth also confirmed the operation on X, thanking Nigeria for its cooperation and support. He wrote: “More to come…Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation,” before signing off with “Merry Christmas!”

Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said early Friday morning local time that precision airstrikes had hit “terrorist targets” in the country’s northwest. The ministry added that Nigeria remains engaged with Washington through “structured security cooperation.”

The strikes followed repeated warnings by Trump since late October that Christianity faces an “existential threat” in Nigeria. He had threatened military action over what he described as the country’s failure to halt violence against Christian communities.

Earlier this week, Reuters reported that the U.S. had been conducting intelligence-gathering flights over large parts of Nigeria since late November.

Nigeria’s government has maintained that armed groups target both Christians and Muslims, arguing that U.S. claims of Christian persecution oversimplify a complex security situation and overlook ongoing efforts to safeguard religious freedom. However, authorities say they are working with the U.S. to strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to combat militant groups.

Nigeria, with a population of about 220 million people, is almost evenly divided between Christians, who largely live in the south, and Muslims, who are concentrated in the north. The country has long faced multiple security challenges, including the Boko Haram extremist group and Islamic State affiliates.

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Violence across Nigeria is driven by a mix of factors, including religious extremism, clashes between farmers and herders over scarce resources, communal rivalries, secessionist movements and ethnic tensions. Attacks have targeted both Christian and Muslim communities.

Police said earlier on Thursday that a suspected suicide bomber killed at least five people and injured 35 others during prayers at a mosque in Maiduguri, in Nigeria’s northeast, another region affected by Islamist insurgency.

In a Christmas message posted on X before Trump’s announcement, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu called for peace in Nigeria, “especially between individuals of differing religious beliefs.” He also pledged to do “everything within my power to enshrine religious freedom in Nigeria and to protect Christians, Muslims, and all Nigerians from violence.”

Trump issued his statement on Christmas Day from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida. The strikes in Nigeria come days after the U.S. military launched separate large-scale attacks on Islamic State targets in Syria following a suspected ISIS attack on U.S. personnel.