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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 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 on X that the strike was conducted at the request of Nigerian authorities and that it killed multiple ISIS militants.
The strike comes after Trump began warning in late October that Christianity faces an “existential threat” in Nigeria. He threatened military intervention in the West African country over what he said was its failure to stop violence targeting Christian communities.
Reuters reported on Monday that the U.S. had been conducting intelligence-gathering flights over large parts of Nigeria since late November.
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.
Trump issued his statement on Christmas Day from his Palm Beach, Fla., Mar-a-Lago Club, where he’s been spending the holiday. He had no public events during the day and was last seen by reporters travelling with him on Wednesday night.
