US forces launch multiple strikes against ISIS in Nigeria, killing militants after Trump warned of retaliation for attacks on Christians.
PALM BEACH: President Donald Trump announced that US forces conducted deadly strikes against Islamic State militants in northwestern Nigeria.
Trump said the Department of Defense executed “numerous perfect strikes” on Christmas Day.
“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,” he posted on Truth Social.
He added a provocative “MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues.”
US Africa Command confirmed a strike conducted “at the request of Nigerian authorities…killing multiple ISIS terrorists.”
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth praised the department’s readiness and expressed gratitude for Nigerian government support.
The attacks are the first by US forces in Nigeria under Trump’s administration.
They follow Trump’s previous statements in October and November describing an “existential threat” and “genocide” against Christians in Nigeria.
Some welcomed the diplomatic stance, while others saw it as inflaming religious tensions in Africa’s most populous nation.
Nigeria’s government and independent analysts reject framing the country’s violence primarily as religious persecution.
That narrative has long been used by the Christian right in the United States and Europe.
