The U.S. launched air strikes against Islamic State-linked militants in northwestern Nigeria on Christmas Day, fulfilling President Donald Trump‘s previous threats towards groups allegedly targeting Christians.
Although the exact group targeted or the number of causalities is not yet clear, security analysts told the Associated Press that it could be a group with IS links known as Lakuwara, which operates in the northwest provinces of the country.
In a post to Truth Social, Trump called the strikes “powerful and deadly” against militants engaging in “viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians.”
“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. The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing,” Trump wrote.
U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) said that they “conducted strikes against ISIS terrorists” that were “in coordination with Nigerian authorities.
Nigerian officials said that the strikes were a joint effort with the U.S. Nigerian foreign minister Yusuf Tuggar told broadcaster Channels TV that it “provided” the U.S. with military intelligence prior to the strikes. He also confirmed two separate conversations with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
At the direction of the President of the United States and the Secretary of War, and in coordination with Nigerian authorities, U.S. Africa Command conducted strikes against ISIS terrorists in Nigeria on Dec. 25, 2025, in Sokoto State.
— U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) (@USAfricaCommand) December 26, 2025
“We spoke twice. We spoke for 19 minutes before the strike and then we spoke again for another five minutes before it went on,” Tuggar said, adding that the two spoke “extensively” and that Nigerian President Bola Tinubu gave “the go-ahead” order for the strikes.
Tuggar also said the campaign of strikes against militant targets would be “ongoing.” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth echoed his comments, saying that there would be “more strikes to come.”
Start your day with essential news from Salon.Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course.
While the effects of the strike are unclear, villagers in the targeted areas say the strikes have left them rattled, per the AP. “It was almost like daytime,” one villager said of the brightness of the bombardment.
Another said his “family is afraid” in the run-up to his forthcoming wedding. “I am supposed to be thinking about my wedding, but right now I am panicking,” she said. “The strike has changed everything.”
Read more
about this topic
