Trump says he ordered strikes on ISIS targets in Nigeria

President Donald Trump said he ordered “numerous” strikes against suspected terrorist targets in northwest Nigeria on Christmas Day.

In an article published Thursday evening on Truth Social, the president wrote that “powerful and deadly” strikes were being directed against Islamic State terrorists whom he accused of targeting and killing Christians in the country.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared Trump’s message on his own X account, adding that he was “grateful for the support and cooperation of the Nigerian government.”

A video released by the Pentagon shows at least one projectile launched from a warship. A U.S. defense official said the strike targeted several militants in known ISIS camps.

The Nigerian government, as well as experts and academics, have previously said that Trump’s description of the security situation in the West African country was misleading, as people of all faiths have suffered at the hands of Islamist extremists and other groups. An explosion at a mosque in northeast Nigeria on Wednesday evening killed five people and injured 35 others.

The country’s population is largely divided between Muslims living mainly in the north and Christians in the south.

On Friday morning, a Nigerian Foreign Ministry spokesperson 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.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs… confirms that the Nigerian authorities remain engaged in structured security cooperation with international partners, notably the United States of America,” spokesperson Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa said in a statement.

“This led to precise strikes on terrorist targets in Nigeria through airstrikes in the North West,” he said.

He said the country’s counterterrorism work with the United States includes intelligence sharing, strategic coordination and mutual respect in a joint effort to combat terrorist groups. This cooperative and legal effort, he said, will continue.

Republican United States Representative Riley Moore, who recently visited the African country, also recently reiterated that the United States and Nigeria had established a joint task force to work on security.

In a post on Christmas Eve, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu wrote on X that he was praying for peace in the country, especially among people of different religions.

“I am committed to doing everything in my power to ensure religious freedom in Nigeria and to protect Christians, Muslims and all Nigerians from violence,” he wrote.

Tinubu wrote in an article published on November 1 on the platform that the “characterization of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality.” He added that the country and its government “oppose and do not encourage religious persecution.”

The United States recently took steps to punish Nigeria for its alleged failure to protect Christians.

In October, Trump placed Nigeria back on the list of countries that the United States says have violated religious freedom. Earlier this week, Nigeria was added to the US list of countries banned from traveling and subject to partial restrictions and entry limitations.

The US military launched separate large-scale strikes against dozens of Islamic State targets in Syria last week, after Trump vowed to retaliate following a suspected IS attack on US personnel in the country.