President Donald Trump said the U.S. military had attacked Islamic State targets in Nigeria, claiming the group had been targeting Christians in the region.
In a Christmas Day post on Truth Social, the president said he directed the military to launch 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!”
In a post on X, the U.S. military’s Africa Command confirmed it had carried out a strike that killed multiple militants at the request of Nigerian authorities. The strike occurred in “Soboto state,” an apparent reference to Sokoto state, the post said.
Trump has referred frequently in recent months to what he called the plight of Christians in Nigeria, and his United Nations ambassador even invited pop star Nicki Minaj to address the issue at the U.N. General Assembly.
“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,” Trump continued, adding that the Pentagon conducted “numerous perfect” strikes against Islamic State targets.
Nigeria has been fighting Islamic State forces in the northwest.
In a Christmas message to troops, Nigerian Air Marshal Kelvin Aneke, the air force chief of staff, had urged his forces to “not leave any stone unturned in the quest to subdue terrorism, banditry and other forms of criminality within the northwest region,” local Channels TV reported.
Nigeria’s foreign ministry said the strikes were carried out as part of security cooperation with the United States involving intelligence sharing and strategic coordination to target militant groups.
“This has led to precision hits on terrorist targets in Nigeria by air strikes in the North West,” the ministry posted on X.
A video posted by the Pentagon showed at least one projectile launched from a warship. A U.S. defense official said the strike targeted multiple militants at known ISIS camps.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth thanked the Nigerian government for its support and cooperation in a post on X, adding there was “more to come.”
Rep. Addison McDowell, R-N.C., said he was “thankful for President Trump’s strong action this Christmas.”
“This situation for Christians in Nigeria has been reaching a breaking point,” McDowell said in a post on X. “Persecution of Christians must never stand.”
The president’s announcement comes after the U.S. military launched airstrikes on several Islamic State targets in Syria on Dec. 19 after the deaths of two U.S. soldiers and a civilian interpreter. In November, Trump had threatened military action in Nigeria over the “killing of Christians” in the country.
In early November, Trump said in a Truth Social post that he directed the Pentagon to “prepare for possible action” in Nigeria after he accused the Nigerian government of not doing enough to protect Christians in the country.
The president threatened to immediately stop all aid to Nigeria. At the time, he noted that the U.S. military may go into Nigeria with “guns-a-blazing” to “completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”
“If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians! WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!” Trump said in his post.
Trump’s warning came after he accused Nigeria of religious freedom violations on Oct. 31, saying that “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria.” He designated the nation as a “Country of Particular Concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act, CNN and The Associated Press reported.
Trump’s allegations have been backed by Minaj, who is using her platform to work with U.N. ambassador Mike Waltz on the treatment of Christians in Nigeria. Minaj joined Waltz on Nov. 18 to speak about the violence in the country.
After Trump’s designation, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said Nov. 1 that the characterization of Nigeria as “religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality, nor does it take into consideration the consistent and sincere efforts of the government to safeguard freedom of religion and beliefs for all Nigerians.”
Tinubu added that the Nigerian government is “committed to working with the United States government and the international community to deepen understanding and cooperation on (the) protection of communities of all faiths.”
Nigeria’s government has said armed groups target both Muslims and Christians. The government says claims that Christians face persecution misrepresent a complex security situation and do not take into account efforts to safeguard religious freedom.
In response to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who condemned the “slaughter of thousands of Christians,” Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu’s press secretary, called the characterization “a gross exaggeration of the Nigerian situation,” adding that “Christians, Muslims, churches and mosques are attacked randomly.”
The country’s population is split between Muslims living primarily in the north and Christians in the south. Most insurgent attacks have taken place in the northern region.
Over the past 15 years, Boko Haram, an extremist Islamist armed group, has terrorized northeastern Nigeria, killing tens of thousands of people. Human rights experts have said more Muslims have been killed by Boko Haram than have Christians, according to Reuters.
“Religious violence in Nigeria is typically a hybrid of ethno-political and economic concerns,” according to a University of Notre Dame report on the persecution of Christians. “Even the motivations of the militant Muslim terrorist group Boko Haram could be characterized as mainly mired in economic and ethno-political disputes.”
Violence in Nigeria escalated in 2025 with attacks by insurgents including al-Qaida affiliate Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin and the Islamic State West Africa Province. The U.N. World Food Programme reported in November that the increase in militant attacks has threatened instability across northern Nigeria and is “driving hunger to levels never seen before.”
“The advance of insurgency presents a serious threat to stability in the north, with consequences reaching beyond Nigeria,” David Stevenson, the World Food Programme’s Nigeria director, said in a statement. “Communities are under severe pressure from repeated attacks and economic stress.”
Recent incidents have underscored the crisis, according to the organization. In November, incidents included Islamic State fighters killing a brigadier general in the northeast and attacks on public schools in the north. Armed bandits abducted more than 300 Catholic school students days after storming a public school, killing a deputy head teacher and seizing 25 schoolgirls, Reuters reported.
On Christmas Eve, five people were killed and 35 injured in a suicide bombing targeting a mosque during evening prayers in the town of Maiduguri, in Nigeria’s Borno State. Authorities blamed the attack on Boko Haram.
Contributing: Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY; Reuters