U.S. Launches Christmas Night Airstrikes on ISIS Targets in Northwest Nigeria, Trump Says
President Donald Trump announced that U.S. forces carried out “powerful and deadly” strikes on ISIS militants in northwest Nigeria on Christmas Day, saying the operation targeted extremists accused of viciously killing Christians and warning of more attacks if the violence continues.
President Donald Trump said the United States military executed multiple airstrikes against what he called “ISIS Terrorist Scum” operating in northwest Nigeria, describing the operation as a response to sustained attacks on Christian communities in the region. In a late‑night post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote that, at his direction as Commander in Chief, U.S. forces launched a “powerful and deadly strike” and that the Department of War had carried out “numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing.”
Trump claimed the targeted fighters have been “viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even centuries,” vowing that there would be “hell to pay” if the killings did not stop. He added that under his leadership the country would not allow “Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper,” ending his message with a Christmas greeting and a pointed warning that there would be “many more” dead terrorists if attacks on Christians continue.
U.S. officials have so far released few operational details, including the number of aircraft involved, the exact locations struck, or any casualty figures for militants or potential civilians. However, the announcement immediately drew international attention, both for the decision to launch strikes in Nigeria on Christmas night and for Trump’s explicitly religious framing of the mission as protection for persecuted Christians.
Human rights and conflict‑monitoring groups have long documented high levels of violence in parts of Nigeria’s north and middle belt, where extremist factions, including Islamic State–linked militants, have carried out massacres, kidnappings, and village raids affecting both Christian and Muslim civilians. Analysts say the U.S. action could signal a sharper willingness by Washington to conduct direct strikes against jihadist groups in West Africa, even as questions remain over how Nigeria’s government and local communities will respond to a deeper American military role.
