The United States has carried out what President Donald Trump called a “powerful and deadly strike” against the Islamic State (IS) group in northwestern Nigeria on Thursday, in an operation coordinated with Nigerian authorities.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump described the militants as “terrorist scum,” accusing them of “targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians.” The U.S. military “executed numerous perfect strikes,” he added.
Meanwhile, The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) confirmed the operation took place in Nigeria’s Sokoto state in collaboration with the Nigerian government. The U.S. Department of Defense later posted an unclassified video appearing to show a missile launch from a military vessel.
Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar described the action as a “joint operation” targeting terrorists, clarifying that it “has nothing to do with a particular religion.” He did not rule out further strikes, noting that future actions would depend on decisions made by the leadership of both nations.
On Friday, Nigeria’s foreign ministry issued a statement reaffirming its “structured security co-operation with international partners, including the United States,” which had “led to precision hits on terrorist targets in Nigeria by air strikes in the North West.”
Independent monitors of violence in Nigeria have noted no evidence that Christians are being killed at a disproportionate rate compared to Muslims in the country, which has a roughly even religious demographic split.
