The US president said the strikes, which were carried out in cooperation with the Nigerian government, were “powerful and deadly”.
US Africa Command said the strikes were conducted “in coordination with Nigerian authorities” in Sokoto State, while a US official told the Reuters news agency the strikes killed multiple targets.
The US president, who was at his home in Mar-a-Lago, announced the military intervention on his social media platform Truth Social, saying: “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.
“Under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper.”
Footage shared by the US Department of War appears to show an airstrike being launched.
Nigeria, which is battling multiple armed groups, said the US strikes were part of an exchange of intelligence and strategic coordination between the two nations.
The country’s security crisis affects both Christians, predominant in the south, and Muslims, who are the majority in the north.
Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is a Muslim, 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.”
Video from Sokoto state filmed late on Thursday shows locals holding metal debris which appears to be part of a projectile, and a fire burning in the background, turning the night sky orange.
The US airstrikes that targeted Islamic State militants in northwestern Nigeria on Thursday marked a major escalation in an offensive that Nigeria’s overstretched military has struggled with for years.
Last week, the US launched strikes to “eliminate ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites” in Syria, according to defence secretary Pete Hegseth.
A US official described it as “a large-scale” strike that hit 70 targets in areas across central Syria that had IS infrastructure and weapons.
The armed groups in Nigeria include at least two affiliated with the Islamic State – an offshoot of the Boko Haram extremist group known as the Islamic State West Africa Province in the northeast, and the lesser-known Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP) known locally as Lakurawa and prominent in the northwest.
Nigerian govt calls on the US govt for partnership to ‘help’ restore peace – but denies claims⁷
Although officials did not say exactly which group was targeted, security analysts said the target, if indeed against Islamic State militants, was likely members of Lakurawa, which became more lethal in border states like Sokoto and Kebbi in the last year, often targeting remote communities and security forces.
The Nigerian military has said in the past that the group has roots in neighbouring Niger and that it became more active in Nigeria’s border communities following a 2023 military coup. That coup resulted in fractured relations between Nigeria and Niger, and affected their multinational military operations along the porous border.
The worsening insecurity in northern Nigeria was brought into focus in November when more than 300 pupils and 12 staff were abducted by gunmen from St Mary’s Catholic boarding school in Niger State. They were all freed by 22 December. Armed gangs in the country frequently target schools for ransom.
Following the updates from US officials, Nigeria’s foreign ministry confirmed that precision air strikes by the US had hit “terrorist targets” in the country’s north west.
It said the country was cooperating with the US in “addressing the persistent threat of terrorism and violent extremism”.
Mr Trump said last month that he had ordered the Pentagon to begin planning for potential military action in Nigeria following reports of Christian persecution.
His government also designated Nigeria a “country of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act and said it would restrict visas for Nigerians and their family members involved in mass killings and violence against Christians in the West African country.
The Nigerian government previously said Mr Trump’s claims that Christians face persecution there is a misrepresentation of the country’s complex security challenges, and that armed groups also target Muslims – but it has agreed to work with the US to bolster its forces against terrorist activity.
After the US strikes, Nigeria’s foreign ministry said: “Nigeria reiterates that all counter-terrorism efforts are guided by the primacy of protecting civilian lives, safeguarding national unity, and upholding the rights and dignity of all citizens, irrespective of faith or ethnicity. 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.”
Source: Sky News
