America Launches Strong Strike Against ISIS in Northwestern Nigeria

SadaNews - Last night, President Donald Trump announced that the United States launched airstrikes against ISIS fighters in northwestern Nigeria, stating that the organization targets Christians in the region.

Trump mentioned in a post on the Truth Social platform, "Tonight, under my direction as Commander-in-Chief, the United States has launched a strong and deadly strike against the scum of ISIS terrorists in northwestern Nigeria who are targeting and brutally killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels we have not witnessed in many years, or even centuries!".

The U.S. military command in Africa stated on X that the strike was carried out at the request of Nigerian authorities and resulted in the deaths of several ISIS members.

The Nigerian Foreign Ministry said that the United States conducted precision airstrikes targeting "terrorist objectives" in the northwest of the country, adding that it remains engaged with Washington in "organized security cooperation.".

This strike comes after Trump began issuing warnings in late October that Christianity faces an "existential threat" in Nigeria and threatened military intervention in the West African nation over what he described as its failure to curb violence targeting Christian areas. Reuters reported on Monday that the United States has been conducting aerial reconnaissance over vast areas of Nigeria since late November.

The Nigerian government claims that armed groups target both Muslims and Christians alike and that the United States' assertions that Christians are being persecuted do not reflect a complex security situation while also overlooking efforts to protect religious freedom. Nonetheless, Nigeria agreed to cooperate with the United States to support its forces against armed groups.

The country's population is divided between Muslims primarily living in the north and Christians in the south. Trump issued his statement on Christmas Day while he was at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, where he is spending the holiday. He did not participate in any public events during the day, and his last appearance before reporters who were accompanying him was on Wednesday night.