By Trevor Hunnicutt, Idrees Ali and Simon Lewis
PALM BEACH, Florida, Dec 25 (Reuters) – The United States carried out an airstrike against Islamic State militants in northwest Nigeria at the request of Nigeria’s government, U.S. President Donald Trump and the U.S. military said on Thursday, claiming the group had been targeting Christians in the region.
“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 even Centuries!,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The U.S. military’s Africa Command said the strike was carried out at the request of the Nigerian authorities in northwest Nigeria, and killed multiple ISIS militants. In a statement, it said the strike occurred in “Soboto state,” an apparent reference to Sokoto state.
The strike comes after Trump starting in late October began warning that Christianity faces an “existential threat” in Nigeria and threatened to militarily intervene in the West African country over what he says is its failure to stop violence targeting Christian communities.
Reuters reported on Monday the U.S. had been conducting intelligence-gathering flights over large parts of Nigeria since late November.
‘MORE TO COME’
Nigeria’s government has said armed groups target both Muslims and Christians, and U.S. claims that Christians face persecution do not represent a complex security situation and ignore efforts to safeguard religious freedom. But it has agreed to work with the U.S. to bolster its forces against militant groups.
The country’s population is split between Muslims living primarily in the north and Christians in the south.
“(The Pentagon) worked with the government of Nigeria to carry out these strikes. These strikes were approved by the government of Nigeria,” a Pentagon official said. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on X thanked the Nigerian government for its support and cooperation and added: “More to come…”
The Nigerian embassy in the U.S. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Police said earlier on Thursday a suspected suicide bomber killed at least five people and injured 35 others in Nigeria’s northeast, another region troubled by Islamist insurgents.
In a Christmas message posted on X earlier, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu called for peace in his country, “especially between individuals of differing religious beliefs.” He also said, “I stand committed to doing 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 the strike on Christmas Day while he was at his Palm Beach, Florida, Mar-a-Lago Club, where he has been spending the holiday. He had no public events during the day and was last seen by the reporters traveling with him on Wednesday night.
The U.S. military last week launched separate large-scale strikes against dozens of Islamic State targets in Syria, after Trump vowed to hit back in the wake of a suspected ISIS attack on U.S. personnel in the country.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt, Adrees Ali and Simon Lewis; additional reporting by Donna Bryson, Maria Tsetkova and Surbhi Misra; Editing by Chris Reese)
Comments