U.S Airstrikes in Nigeria: How Global Media Reported It

U.S. Strikes ISIS in Nigeria After Trump Warned of Attacks on Christians- The New York Times

The United States launched a number of strikes against the Islamic State in northwestern Nigeria, President Trump announced on Thursday, the latest American military campaign against a nonstate adversary — in this case, Islamic jihadis who the president asserts have been slaughtering Christians.

Mr. Trump said in a post on Truth Social that “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!”

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.

In a statement, U.S. Africa Command said its initial assessment concluded that “multiple” ISIS terrorists were killed in the strike

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.

An insurgency there has gone on for more than a decade, killing thousands of Christians and Muslims across sectarian lines. The Nigerian authorities have rejected allegations of a Christian genocide, noting that the web of violent armed groups, with different motives and spread across the country, kills as many Muslims as Christians.

However, Nigerian officials have stepped up engagement with the U.S. in recent weeks, after Mr. Trump ordered the Defense Department in November to prepare to intervene militarily in Nigeria to protect Christians.

The Christmas Day attack came after the U.S. had been conducting intelligence-gathering surveillance flights over large parts of Nigeria since late November, according to the military official.

On Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote in a post on social media, “The President was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end.”

“The @DeptofWar is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight — on Christmas,” he added. “More to come…”

US Says It Struck Islamic State Militants in North-west Nigeria – Reuters

The United States carried out a strike against Islamic State militants in northwest Nigeria at the request of Nigeria’s government, 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 in Sokoto state in coordination with Nigerian authorities and killed multiple ISIS militants.

Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar told the British Broadcasting Corp the strike was a “joint operation” targeting “terrorists”, and it “has nothing to do with a particular religion”.

Without naming ISIS specifically, Tuggar said the operation had been planned “for quite some time” and had used intelligence information provided by the Nigerian side. He did not rule out further strikes, adding that this depended on “decisions to be taken by the leadership of the two countries”

The strike comes after Trump 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.

Nigeria’s foreign ministry said the strike was carried out as part of ongoing security cooperation with the United States, involving intelligence sharing and strategic coordination to target militant groups.

“This has led to precision hits on terrorist targets in Nigeria by air strikes in the North West,” the ministry said in a post on X.

A video posted by the Pentagon showed at least one projectile launched from a warship. A U.S. defense official said the strike targeted multiple militants at known ISIS camps.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth thanked the Nigerian government on X for its support and cooperation and added: “More to come…”

US Strikes ISIS in Nigeria, Warns ‘More to Come’ – Bloomberg

The US launched a military strike in Nigeria against Islamic State targets in a security and intelligence collaboration with the African nation’s government, which has been struggling to contain increasing levels of terrorist attacks in parts of the country.

President Donald Trump said he directed American forces to carry out “a powerful and deadly strike” against ISIS. Nigeria’s foreign affairs ministry confirmed the “precision hits on terrorist targets” and said it remains engaged with international partners including the US to address the “persistent threat of terrorism and violent extremism.”

Trump in November threatened possible US military action against Islamist militants in Nigeria if the country’s government didn’t halt the groups’ “killing of Christians.” At the time, Nigerian dollar bonds fell across the maturity curve, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“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 social media post. “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.”

US Africa Command said in a statement that the attack came “at the request of Nigerian authorities” and killed “multiple ISIS terrorists.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday threatened there would be “more to come” if the group does not stop going after “innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere).”

Trump has already designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern over so-called fears about the safety of Christians in the country. Republican Senator Ted Cruz, a Trump ally, has also pushed Congress to designate Nigeria a violator of religious freedom.

Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has rejected Trump’s characterization of the country as religiously intolerant.

“Terrorist violence in any form whether directed at Christians, Muslims, or other communities remains an affront to Nigeria’s values and to international peace and security,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in the statement posted on X on Friday.

US Carries Out Strikes on Nigeria Targeting Islamic State Militants, Trump Says – The Guardian

Donald Trump has said the US carried out airstrikes against Islamic State militants in north-west Nigeria on Thursday, after spending weeks decrying the group for targeting Christians.

The president said in a post on his Truth Social platform: “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!

“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. The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing.”

The US military’s Africa Command said the strike was carried out in Sokoto state in coordination with the Nigerian authorities. An earlier statement posted by the command on X said the strike had been conducted at the request of Nigerian authorities, but that statement was later removed. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said he was “grateful for Nigerian government support + cooperation”.

Forests in Sokoto, which is bordered by Niger to the north, have been used as bases by gangs of armed bandits and members of the Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP) known locally as ‘Lakurawa’. Some analysts say the latter’s cell in the state began as a group of herders banding together to fight incursions from bandits, in the absence of state support.

Nigeria’s foreign ministry said the strikes were carried out as part of ongoing security cooperation with the US, involving intelligence sharing and strategic coordination to target militant groups. “This has led to precision hits on terrorist targets in Nigeria by air strikes in the North West,” the ministry said in a post on X.

Earlier this month US planes conducted surveillance missions over the region. It’s believed they were using an airport in neighbouring Ghana as a launch base.

Trump has previously said he would launch a “guns-a-blazing” US military intervention in Nigeria, claiming that the country’s government has been inadequate in its efforts to prevent attacks on Christians by Islamist groups

Trump Bombs ISIS in Africa- The Wall Street Journal

President Trump ordered a bombing attack on Islamic terror camps in northwestern Nigeria on Christmas Day, with promises of “more to come” from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. But stopping the growth of ISIS in Africa will require more than bombing from afar.

In a social-media post, Mr. Trump justified the strike against ISIS terrorists “who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!” Pentagon sources told the press that more than a dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles were launched from a U.S. ship on targets in Sokoto State.

US launches strikes against Islamic State group in Nigeria after attacks target Christians – AP

President Donald Trump said the United States launched a “powerful and deadly” strike against forces of the Islamic State group in Nigeria, after spending weeks accusing the West African country’s government of failing to rein in the targeting of Christians.

In a Christmas evening post on his social media site Thursday, Trump did not provide details or mention the extent of the damage caused by the strikes in the northwestern state of Sokoto.

A Defense Department official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss details not made public, said the U.S. worked with Nigeria to carry out the strikes and that they’d been approved by Abuja.

The United States launched airstrikes against Islamic State group militants in northwestern Nigeria Thursday.

Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the cooperation included exchange of intelligence and strategic coordination in ways “consistent with international law, mutual respect for sovereignty and shared commitments to regional and global security.”

The Associated Press could not confirm the extent of the strikes’ impact.

Nigeria is battling multiple armed groups, including at least two affiliated with IS, an offshoot of the Boko Haram extremist group known as the Islamic State West Africa Province in the northeast, and the less-known Lakurawa group prominent in the northwestern states, where the gangs use large swathes of forests as hideouts.

Security analysts said the target of the U.S. strikes could be the Lakurawa group, which in the last year has increasingly become lethal in the region, often targeting remote communities and security forces.

“Lakurawa is a group that is actually controlling territories in Nigeria, in Sokoto state and in other states like Kebbi,” said Malik Samuel, a Nigerian security researcher at Good Governance Africa. “In the northwest, there has been the incursion of violent extremist groups that are ideologically driven,” he said, blaming the incursion on the near absence of the state and security forces in hot spots

Trump said the airstrikes were launched against IS militants “who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians.” Residents and security analysts have said Nigeria’s security crisis affects both Christians, predominant in the south, and Muslims, who are the majority in the north.

“Terrorist violence in any form, whether directed at Christians, Muslims or other communities, remains an affront to Nigeria’s values and to international peace and security,” the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Nigeria’s government has previously said in response to Trump’s criticisms that people of many faiths, not just Christians, have suffered attacks at the hands of extremist groups.