US launches strikes against Islamic State in Nigeria

 The United States has undertaken "powerful and deadly" strikes against militants associated to the Islamic State group (IS) in northwestern Nigeria, where extremists have sought to create a foothold, according to President Donald Trump.

Trump told Politico that he ordered the strikes on December 25 as a "Christmas present," contradicting a statement from Nigerian officials.


The group's camps in Sokoto state were attacked near the Niger border, according to the US military. Casualty figures are unknown, but both US and Nigerian sources claim insurgents were killed.

Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar told the BBC that it was a "joint operation" with "nothing to do with a particular religion".

Tuggar stated that the strikes had been prepared "for quite some time" with intelligence provided by Nigeria. He didn't rule out additional strikes.

Referring to the timing of the strikes, which occurred late on Thursday, he stated that they had nothing to do with Christmas.

"They were going to do it earlier," Trump said of the airstrikes. "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." A local official in the Tangaza area of Sokoto state, Isa Salihu Bashir, told the BBC the strikes had "hit some Lakurawa terrorist camps". He said many fighters had been killed but the death toll was unclear. The BBC has been unable to independently confirm casualty figures. Bashir added that border patrols on the Niger side reported seeing Lakurawa fighters fleeing the targeted areas. The Nigerian government has long been fighting an array of jihadist groups, including Boko Haram and IS-linked factions, but largely in the north-east.

But in recent years a smaller group - known locally as Lakurawa - has sought to establish a base in north-western Sokoto state. Nigerian authorities say the group has links to jihadist networks in Mali and Niger. They add that its members have settled in border communities, recruited young people, and imposed harsh controls. Tangaza is made up of remote villages, whose residents are mostly moderate Muslims.

In a statement late on Friday, Nigeria's information ministry said "precision strike operations" had been carried with the "explicit approval" of President Bola Tinubu and with "the full involvement of the armed forces of Nigeria". It also said that during the operation debris from munitions fell in two communities – the village of Jabo, also in Sokoto state, and Offa in Kwara state, about 600km (370 miles) to the south. No civilian casualties were reported in either location. Umar Jabo, an eyewitness in Jabo, told the BBC: "Something that looked like a plane flashed and crashed... in fields." He said there was no issue with IS in the area: "We live peacefully, and there is no conflict between us and Christians."

The Trump administration has previously accused the Nigerian government of failing to protect Christians from jihadist attacks and has claimed a "genocide" is being perpetrated. Trump has labelled Nigeria a "country of particular concern", a designation used by the US state department that provides for sanctions against countries "engaged in severe violations of religious freedom".

In a late-night social media statement confirming the strikes, Trump stated that he would "not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper".

On Thursday, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth expressed gratitude for the Nigerian government's assistance and cooperation.

The Pentagon later released a brief video that appeared to show a missile being launched from a ship.

Nigeria is Africa's most populous country, with over 220 million people, fairly evenly split between Christians and Muslims.

For more than a decade, jihadist groups like Boko Haram and their IS-linked offshoots have wreaked devastation in northeastern Nigeria, killing thousands of people.

Acled, a group that studies political violence around the world, reports that the majority of casualties have been Muslims.

The strikes mark the second major US action against IS in recent weeks.

Nigeria is Africa's most populous country, with around 220 million inhabitants split fairly evenly between Christians and Muslims.

For more than a decade, jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and their IS-linked offshoots have wreaked devastation in northeastern Nigeria, murdering thousands.

According to a group that studies global political violence, the majority of casualties have been Muslims.

The strikes represent the United States' second major intervention against IS in recent weeks.

The US Central Command (Centcom) said that fighter planes, assault helicopters, and artillery had hit more than 70 sites. Jordanian aircraft were also participating.

The strikes were undertaken in retribution for the ambush that killed three Americans - two soldiers and a civilian translator.

        Detail of US airstrikes against Islamic State ‘terrorist in Nigeria

Arise News247 gathered that following the earlier boast by terrorists to launch attacks during Christmas celebration in Nigeria, scores of members of the extremist armed group Islamic State (ISIS) had gathered in a camp in Sokoto; from Mali, Burkina Faso and other camps in Nigeria; from where they were coordinating to dispatch to their targeted four states in Nigeria, where they intended to launch coordinated attacks.

The United States of America monitoring the movement of the ISIS and other terrorists groups, took advantage of the large gathering to launch “a powerful and deadly strike against the ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria”, from their military ship, eliminating all of them that gathered, without one of them able to escape on Thursday, December 25, 2025.