Air strikes hit Islamic State in Nigeria in US-Nigeria joint operation

The Islamic State (ISIS) militants in Nigeria have suffered multiple drone strikes jointly enforced by the United States of America (USA) and Nigeria in North West of Nigeria’s Sokoto state following a series of terrorist attacks targeting Christians and primary school going pupils.

US President Donald Trump said that Washington launched a “powerful and deadly strike” against the Islamic State (IS) group in north-western Nigeria.

The US leader described IS as “terrorist scum”, accusing the group of “targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians”.

“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,” an update by the U.S. Africa Command read in part.

President Trump said the US military “executed numerous perfect strikes”, while Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said he was “grateful for Nigerian government support and cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

The US Africa Command later said the strikes were carried out in co-ordination with Nigeria in the Sokoto state. Separately, Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar told the BBC it was a “joint operation”.

More strikes targeting the militant group are expected to continue.

The Islamic State (ISIS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and the Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist militant organisation and an unrecognised quasi-state that has affiliates notably the Al Shabaab.

In November, President Trump ordered the US military to prepare for action in Nigeria to tackle Islamist militant groups.

In his post on Truth Social late on Thursday, the US President said that “under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper”.

In his warning back in November, the US leader did not say which killings he was referring to – but claims of a genocide against Nigeria’s Christians have been circulating in recent months in some right-wing US circles.

Groups monitoring violence say there is no evidence to suggest that Christians are being killed more than Muslims in Nigeria, which is roughly evenly divided between followers of the two religions.

An adviser to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu told the BBC at the time that any military action against the jihadist groups should be carried out together.

Daniel Bwala said Nigeria would welcome US help in tackling the Islamist insurgents but noted that it was a “sovereign” country.

He also said the jihadists were not targeting members of a particular religion and that they had killed people from all faiths, or none

President Tinubu has insisted there is religious tolerance in the country and said the security challenges were affecting people “across faiths and regions”.

US President Trump earlier announced that he had declared Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” because of the “existential threat” posed to its Christian population. He said “thousands” had been killed, without providing any evidence.

This is a designation used by the US state department that provides for sanctions against countries “engaged in severe violations of religious freedom”.

Following this announcement, Tinubu said his government was committed to working with the US and the international community to protect communities of all faiths.

Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province have wrought havoc in north-eastern Nigeria for more than a decade, killing thousands of people – however most of these have been Muslims, according to Acled, a group which analyses political violence around the world.

In central Nigeria, there are also frequent clashes between mostly Muslim herders and farming groups, who are often Christian, over access to water and pasture.

Deadly cycles of tit-for-tat attacks have also seen thousands killed – but atrocities have been committed on both sides.

Human rights groups say there is no evidence that Christians have been disproportionately targeted.