Trump says strikes on Islamic State in Nigeria were 'early Christmas present' as multiple targets killed
The attacks were launched "in coordination with Nigerian authorities" and reportedly killed multiple targets
President Donald Trump said the strikes in Nigeria were a 'Christmas present.'.
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Alamy
Donald Trump has said the strikes launched in Nigeria were a "Christmas present" to ISIS militants in the country. The President told reporters on Boxing Day that ISIS "got a very bad Christmas present" after the US military carried out strikes targeting suspected terrorists in northwestern Nigeria on Thursday night.Mr Trump told WABC: "They were going to do it earlier, and I said 'nope, let's give a Christmas present.'"They didn't think that was coming, but we hit them hard. Every camp got decimated."Read more: King praises 'courage and bravery' during Bondi Beach and Heaton Park attacks in Christmas speechRead more: Urgent search launched for two men missing in sea after Christmas morning dip
US Africa Command said the strikes were conducted "in coordination with Nigerian authorities" in Sokoto State.
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Getty
"We hit ISIS, who are terrible. They are butchers. We really hit them hard in different locations. They really got hit hard yesterday. "They got a very bad Christmas present."The strikes killed multiple targets, according to US officials, and were conducted "in coordination with Nigerian authorities" in Sokoto State.Announcing the attacks on his social media platform Truth Social, Mr Trump initially said his attacks targeted "ISIS terrorist scum."However, it was more likely that members of Lakurawa, a militant group prominent in the northwest, were hit by the strikes. "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!," the President previously said.
Nigeria's foreign ministry confirmed that precision air strikes by the US had hit "terrorist targets" in the country's north west.
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Getty
"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. The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing."Under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper."On X, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth warned ISIS that there was "more to come". "The President was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end," he said. "The @DeptofWar [Department of War] is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight - on Christmas. More to come..."
Announcing the attacks on his social media platform Truth Social, Mr Trump said his attacks targeted "ISIS terrorist scum".
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Truth Social Platform
Nigeria's foreign ministry confirmed that America's "precision air strikes" had hit "terrorist targets" in the country's north west.The African nation was cooperating with the US in "addressing the persistent threat of terrorism and violent extremism". Nigeria had been flagged as a country of particular concern" by his administration, which has restricted visas for Nigerians and their family members involved in mass killings and violence against Christians in the West African country."Churches have been burned, families have been torn apart... simply because of how they pray" she said at an event organised US embassy to the UN in New York last month. Nigeria's population is split between Muslims living primarily in the north and Christians in the south.After the US strikes, Nigeria's foreign ministry said: "Nigeria reiterates that all counter-terrorism efforts are guided by the primacy of protecting civilian lives, safeguarding national unity, and upholding the rights and dignity of all citizens, irrespective of faith or ethnicity. "Terrorist violence in any form whether directed at Christians, Muslims, or other communities remains an affront to Nigeria's values and to international peace and security."
