Dec. 25 (UPI) — The U.S. military carried out several strikes on alleged terrorists in northwest Nigeria on Thursday in retaliation for attacks on Christians in an area largely controlled by Islamists.
The number of strikes and the manner in which they were carried out were not announced, but President Donald Trump said they targeted ISIS-aligned “Islamic state terrorists” in Nigeria, CNN reported.
“Tonight, at my direction as commander-in-chief, the United States launched 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!” Trump said in a Christmas Day post on Truth Social.
“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,” he added.
The president said the U.S. military “executed numerous perfect strikes” against alleged terrorist targets in Nigeria.
“Under my leadership, our country will not allow radical Islamic terrorism to prosper,” Trump said. “May God bless our military, and Merry Christmas to all, including the dead terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues.”
Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth confirmed the strikes and thanked the Nigerian government for its support and cooperation.
“The president was clear last month: The killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end,” Hegseth said in a post on X.
“The Department of War is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight — on Christmas,” he said, adding: “More to come.”
Nigeria’s population generally is divided between Christians to the south and Muslims to the north, and Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday said he prays for peace within the West African nation.
“I stand committed to doing everything within my power to enshrine religious freedom in Nigeria and to protect Christians, Muslims and all Nigerians from violence,” Tinubu said.
