President Donald Trump pumps his fist at Christmas Eve dinner at his Mar-a-Lago club, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo)
US president Donald Trump has said the United States carried out a military strike against militants linked to ISIS in north-west Nigeria, following a request from Nigerian authorities.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he ordered the operation “as Commander in Chief”, claiming the strike targeted militants who had been attacking Christian communities. In his words, the US launched “a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS terrorist scum in northwest Nigeria”.
.@POTUS “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… pic.twitter.com/ct7rUW128t
Trump said the groups had been “viciously killing… innocent Christians”, and added that he had earlier warned them that “there would be hell to pay”. He wrote that “tonight, there was”, and praised what he called “numerous perfect strikes”.
According to Trump’s post, the action was carried out by the “Department of War”, and he said the United States would not allow “radical Islamic terrorism to prosper” under his leadership. He ended the statement by saying: “May God bless our military, and Merry Christmas to all.”
US official said the strike was conducted at the request of the Nigerian authorities.
Nigeria’s government has said armed groups target both Muslims and Christians, and US claims that Christians face persecution do not represent a complex security situation and ignore efforts to safeguard religious freedom.
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Flops belonging to worshippers are seen following a deadly bomb explosion at a mosque in Maiduguri, Nigeria, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (AP Photo)
But it has agreed to work with the US to bolster its forces against militant groups. The country’s population is split between Muslims living primarily in the north and Christians in the south.
The president issued his statement on Christmas Day while he was at his Palm Beach, Florida, Mar-a-Lago Club, where he has been spending the holiday. He had no public events during the day and was last seen by the reporters traveling with him on Wednesday night.
The President was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end.
The @DeptofWar is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight — on Christmas. More to come…
Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s foreign ministry said the strikes were carried out as part of ongoing security cooperation with the US, involving intelligence sharing and strategic coordination to target militant groups. “This has led to precision hits on terrorist targets in Nigeria by air strikes in the North West,” the ministry said in a post on X.
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nigeria 🇳🇬 (@NigeriaMFA) December 26, 2025
Nigeria is officially a secular country but its population is almost evenly divided between Muslims (53%) and Christians (45%). Violence against Christians has drawn significant international attention, especially among the religious right in America, and it has often been framed as religious persecution.
However, Nigeria’s government rejects framing the country’s violence in terms of religious persecution, saying in the past that armed groups target both Muslims and Christians, and US claims that Christians face persecution do not represent a complex security situation and ignore efforts to safeguard religious freedom. But the government has previously agreed to work with the US to bolster its forces against militant groups.
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President Donald Trump pumps his fist at Christmas Eve dinner at his Mar-a-Lago club, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo) 
