U.S. Conducts Christmas Day Airstrikes in Nigeria Targeting ISIS Affiliates, Vows to Protect Christians
In a dramatic holiday declaration, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he directed a deadly military strike against ISIS-linked militants in northwest Nigeria, framing the operation as a direct response to the ongoing slaughter of innocent Christians in the region.
The announcement, made via Trump’s Truth Social platform late on Christmas Day, stated that U.S. forces executed “numerous perfect strikes” against what he termed “ISIS Terrorist Scum” in Nigeria’s troubled northwest.
“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,” Trump wrote in the post, which he signed as “PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.” He ended with a pointed holiday message: “MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues.”
On the Ground: Debris and Questions in Sokoto
Early reports from Nigeria’s Sokoto State indicate the strikes targeted the village of Jabo in the Tambuwal Local Government Area. Local residents were seen on Friday morning sifting through wreckage and recovering debris in the aftermath of the attack.
Villagers told local media they heard multiple explosions overnight but details on casualties or the specific militant target remain unconfirmed by official sources. Images from the scene show twisted metal and scorched earth, as community members attempt to assess the damage.
The region has been a hotspot for violence involving multiple armed groups, including kidnap-for-ransom bandits and militants affiliated with the Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP). These groups have been accused of carrying out attacks on both Muslim and Christian communities, though religiously-motivated killings have escalated in recent years.
A Political Statement Amid Ongoing Conflict
Trump’s direct and provocative announcement refocuses international attention on Nigeria’s complex security crisis, which involves jihadist insurgencies, communal clashes, and widespread criminality. By explicitly naming the protection of Christians as the strike’s justification, the statement injects a potent religious dimension into U.S. military action in the region.
Security analysts note that while the U.S. has provided intelligence and limited support to Nigerian forces for years, such a publicly claimed, unilateral strike directed by the president is highly unusual and could raise diplomatic and legal questions.
Nigerian authorities have not yet issued an official statement regarding the operation or its coordination with U.S. forces. The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) has not commented on the former president’s claims.
As villagers in Sokoto clear the remnants of the strike, the broader implications are just coming into view: a renewed, politically-charged U.S. focus on Nigeria’s terrorism fight, and a vow to make militants “pay” for targeting a specific religious community.
