Abuja, Dec 26 – The United States carried out a military strike against Islamic State militants operating in northwest Nigeria, in coordination with Nigerian authorities, U.S. President Donald Trump and the U.S. Africa Command said on Thursday.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the strike targeted Islamic State fighters who had been responsible for attacks in the region. He described the operation as decisive and signalled that further action could follow.
The U.S. military’s Africa Command said the strike was conducted in Sokoto state in coordination with Nigerian authorities and resulted in the deaths of multiple Islamic State militants. The command said the operation targeted known militant camps and relied on shared intelligence.
Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar confirmed the operation was a joint effort between the two countries, telling the British Broadcasting Corporation that it was directed at terrorist groups and was not motivated by religion. He said planning for the strike had been underway for some time and was based on intelligence provided by Nigerian security services.
Tuggar added that additional operations could take place, depending on decisions taken by the leadership of both countries.
The strike follows weeks of heightened rhetoric from Trump, who in October warned of an “existential threat” to Christians in Nigeria and suggested the United States could intervene militarily if violence continued. Nigerian officials have consistently rejected the framing of the conflict as religious, instead describing it as a security challenge driven by extremist groups.
Nigeria’s foreign ministry said the strike formed part of broader security cooperation with the United States, involving intelligence sharing and strategic coordination aimed at dismantling militant networks in the country’s northwest.
A video released by the U.S. Department of Defense showed a projectile launched from a military vessel. A U.S. defence official said multiple militants at established Islamic State camps were targeted during the operation.
The United States has stepped up surveillance activity in Nigeria in recent months, with Reuters reporting earlier this week that U.S. intelligence flights had been conducted over large parts of the country since late November.