Breaking News: US FORCES RAIN FIRE ON TERRORISTS IN SOKOTO
The United States has carried out a powerful airstrike against Islamic State (ISIS) militants in northwest Nigeria, reportedly killing scores of terrorists, following weeks of strong warnings by U.S. President Donald Trump over escalating violence in the region.
According to statements from the U.S. military and President Trump, the strike was executed at the request of the Nigerian government and targeted ISIS fighters operating in the Sokoto axis. U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) confirmed that the operation resulted in the deaths of multiple ISIS militants, describing it as a decisive blow against extremist elements.
Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS terrorist scum in Northwest Nigeria,” Trump declared.
President Trump, in a statement posted on Truth Social, said the strike was ordered in response to persistent attacks by ISIS militants, whom he accused of targeting and brutally killing Christians in the region at alarming levels.
The airstrike follows months of heightened rhetoric from Trump, who since late October has warned that Christianity faces what he termed an ‘existential threat’ in Nigeria, and had openly threatened U.S. military intervention if violence against Christian communities continued.
Earlier this week, Reuters reported that U.S. intelligence-gathering flights had been conducted over large parts of Nigeria since late November, signaling growing American security involvement.
Nigeria’s government, while acknowledging cooperation with the United States to strengthen its counter-terrorism capacity, has maintained that armed groups target both Muslims and Christians, stressing that the security crisis is complex and not driven solely by religious persecution.
Nigeria remains deeply divided demographically, with a predominantly Muslim population in the north and Christians largely in the south, a dynamic that has often intersected with insurgency and banditry.
President Trump issued his statement on Christmas Day from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, underscoring the symbolic timing of the strike amid rising global attention on religious violence.
Further details on the scale of the operation and its aftermath are expected as both governments continue consultations.