US Conducts ‘Deadly’ Airstrike on ISIS Militants in Northwest Nigeria, Says Trump
Trump says operation targeted Islamic State militants over alleged attacks on Christians; Nigeria yet to comment
WASHINGTON, Dec 26: The United States on Thursday (local time) carried out what President Donald Trump described as a “powerful and deadly” strike against the Islamic State terror group in northwest Nigeria, citing alleged attacks on Christian communities in the region.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the operation was conducted at his direction and targeted ISIS militants accused of killing civilians.
“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS terrorists in northwest Nigeria,” Trump said, alleging that the group had been “viciously killing innocent Christians.”
The US President claimed that American forces carried out multiple precision strikes and warned that further action would follow if attacks continued.
“The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing,” Trump wrote. “Under my leadership, our country will not allow radical Islamic terrorism to prosper.”
According to the US National Counterterrorism Center, ISIS-West Africa (ISIS-WA) emerged in 2015 after Boko Haram pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. The group is known to target military installations, government personnel, civilian defence forces, and religious communities across parts of Nigeria and the wider Lake Chad region.
The strike in Nigeria comes amid heightened US military activity against Islamic State affiliates elsewhere. Earlier this month, US and Jordanian forces conducted large-scale air strikes in Syria, hitting more than 70 ISIS targets with over 100 precision-guided munitions, according to the US Central Command (CENTCOM).
CENTCOM described the Syria operation as a demonstration of “peace through strength” and released video footage of the overnight strikes. The operation followed a suspected Islamic State attack on a convoy of US and Syrian forces near the central Syrian town of Palmyra.
There was no immediate response from Nigerian authorities regarding the US operation, and details about casualties or damage from the strike in northwest Nigeria were not immediately available.
