Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
The United States has confirmed it carried out coordinated military strikes against ISIS-linked militants in Nigeria, marking a significant escalation in Washington’s response to extremist violence in West Africa and intensifying diplomatic scrutiny of Nigeria’s internal security challenges.
President Donald Trump announced the operation Thursday in a post on his social media platform, describing the action as a “powerful and deadly strike” against ISIS terrorists whom he accused of “targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians.” Trump said he had previously warned that continued attacks on Christian communities would provoke a U.S. response, adding that the strikes were carried out on Christmas.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reinforced the president’s message in a post on X, saying the Department of Defense was “always ready” and warning that there would be “more to come.” He also thanked the Nigerian government for its cooperation, ending his message with a Christmas greeting.
U.S. Africa Command later confirmed the strikes, stating they were conducted “in coordination with Nigerian authorities.” While the Pentagon released a brief, unclassified video showing a missile launch from a U.S. naval platform, neither U.S. nor Nigerian officials disclosed specific targets, casualty figures, or the precise locations of the strikes.
Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledged the operation in a statement from Abuja, emphasizing that the action was part of ongoing bilateral security cooperation aimed at combating ISIS and other extremist groups. The ministry said the collaboration included intelligence sharing and strategic coordination, carried out in accordance with international law and respect for Nigerian sovereignty.
The strikes follow weeks of increasingly sharp rhetoric from the White House. In early November, Trump publicly threatened to intervene militarily in Nigeria, accusing its government of failing to protect Christians from extremist violence. When asked at the time whether U.S. forces could be deployed on the ground, he replied, “Could be.” Shortly afterward, the State Department redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern for alleged severe violations of religious freedom, and last week the country was added to a U.S. travel ban list with partial entry restrictions.
The U.S. action in Nigeria also comes days after American strikes against ISIS targets in Syria, launched in response to an attack earlier this month that killed three U.S. service members. Taken together, the operations suggest a broader effort by Washington to demonstrate a hardline approach toward ISIS affiliates across multiple regions.
Nigeria has long struggled with insurgent violence, particularly in the northeast, where ISIS-West Africa Province (ISWAP) and remnants of Boko Haram have carried out attacks for more than a decade. While religious identity often intersects with the violence, security analysts and human rights organizations have repeatedly noted that both Christians and Muslims have been victims, with tens of thousands of civilians killed and millions displaced.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has rejected portrayals of the country as religiously intolerant, arguing that such claims do not reflect Nigeria’s national reality. On Christmas Eve, he posted a message calling for peace between people of different faiths and reaffirmed his commitment to protecting Christians, Muslims, and all Nigerians from violence.
Independent experts caution that framing Nigeria’s conflict solely through a religious lens risks oversimplifying a complex crisis driven by insurgency, local grievances, criminal networks, and weak governance in some regions. Still, the U.S. strikes underscore growing international concern over the reach of ISIS affiliates in West Africa and signal a willingness by Washington to take direct military action when it perceives threats to civilians and regional stability.
As of now, questions remain about the effectiveness and longer-term implications of the strikes, including whether they will deter further attacks or deepen tensions within Nigeria’s fragile security landscape. Both governments have indicated that cooperation will continue, suggesting the operation may mark not an isolated event but the beginning of a more assertive phase in U.S.-Nigeria counterterrorism efforts.
