US President Donald Trump has hailed what he described as 'powerful and deadly' American military strikes carried out on Christmas Day against an Islamic State affiliate in Nigeria.
Details of the Christmas Day Operation
The strikes, which took place on 25 December 2025, targeted camps operated by the jihadist group in Nigeria's north-western Sokoto state, near the border with Niger. The Pentagon stated that an initial assessment suggested multiple fatalities resulted from the operation.
In a social media post on Christmas Day, President Trump declared that the action was directed against 'ISIS terrorist scum' who he claimed had been 'targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians'. He asserted that the Department of War executed 'numerous perfect strikes'.
A video released by the US Department of War on X showed missiles being launched from a warship during the operation.
Nigerian Response and Conflicting Claims
Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar informed the BBC that the strikes were a 'joint operation' with the United States and had been planned for a significant period. Nigeria's foreign ministry echoed this, stating that cooperation with the US led to 'precision hits on terrorist targets'.
This military action follows repeated statements from the Trump administration alleging that Christians in Nigeria face systematic targeting by jihadists, a claim the US President has framed as an 'existential threat' to Christianity in the West African nation.
However, these assertions have been challenged. The Nigerian government maintains that armed groups target both Muslims and Christians. Furthermore, independent monitoring organisations have questioned the data used to support claims of a genocide against Christians.
The conflict monitoring group ACLED, for instance, raised doubts about a widely circulated social media figure stating over 100,000 Christians had been killed since 2009, noting such statistics often encompass all political violence, not just sectarian attacks.
The Complex Jihadist Landscape in Nigeria
The security situation in northern Nigeria is dominated by a web of jihadist organisations. The most notorious is Boko Haram, founded in 2002 and based primarily in the north-east. The group is infamous for atrocities including suicide bombings, school attacks, village burnings, and mass abductions, such as the 2014 kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok.
In 2015, a faction pledged allegiance to ISIS, rebranding as the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). While initially presenting itself as more disciplined, ISWAP has also been implicated in attacks on civilians. The broader security picture is further complicated by frequent, violent clashes between predominantly Muslim Fulani herders and farming communities of various faiths, often driven by competition over dwindling land and water resources.
The Christmas Day strikes mark a significant escalation of direct US military involvement in Nigeria's protracted and complex internal conflict.
