US launches attack against Islamic State in Nigeria

The United States has launched an offensive against militants associated with the Islamic State (IS) group in northwestern Nigeria, where the militants are trying to establish a stronghold.

The U.S. military said a camp run by the group in Sokoto state on the Nigeria-Niger border was attacked, adding that “initial assessment” was that there were “several” deaths.

US President Donald Trump said the Christmas Day attack was “deadly” and labeled the group a “terrorist scum” who “targeted and brutally murdered primarily innocent Christians.”

Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tugaa told the BBC it was a “joint operation” and “has nothing to do with any particular religion”.

Tagger said the attack had been planned “for quite some time” using information provided by Nigeria. He also did not rule out the possibility of further strikes.

“It has nothing to do with Christmas. It could be any other day. It has something to do with terrorist attacks that are killing Nigerians,” he said, referring to the timing of the airstrike late Thursday night.

For years, Nigeria’s government has been battling an array of jihadist groups, including Boko Haram and Islamic State affiliates, primarily in the northeast, hundreds of miles from Sokoto state.

“We heard a loud explosion that shook the whole town, and everyone was scared,” Haruna Kara, a resident of Habo village, told AFP news agency.

Another local resident, Umar Jabo, told BBC News: “Everyone thought it was a plane. It crashed in a field.”

His comments were backed up by images on social media showing people standing in fields photographing the burnt remains of the attack.

Umar Jabo denied killing IS fighters, saying: “Here in Jabo, we live peacefully and there is no conflict between us and Christians.”

The Trump administration has previously accused Nigeria’s government of failing to protect Christians from jihadist attacks, alleging that “genocide” is being committed.

President Trump designated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern,” a category used by the U.S. State Department to impose sanctions on countries that commit “serious violations of religious freedom.”

U.S. forces were ordered to prepare to intervene in Nigeria in November.

At the time, Nigeria’s presidential adviser Bola Tinubu told BBC News that extremists were targeting people “across faiths” and that any US military action should be carried out jointly.

Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country, with a population of about 220 million people, split almost evenly between Christians and Muslims.

In a social media post late on Christmas Day, President Trump confirmed the airstrike and said: “We will not allow extremist Islamic terrorism to spread.”

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that he was “grateful for the support and cooperation of the Nigerian government.”

“Merry Christmas!” he added, writing about X.

The Pentagon later posted a short video showing the missile being fired from the ship.

Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Friday morning that authorities are engaged in “security cooperation with international partners, including the United States, to address the persistent threat of terrorists and violent extremism.”

“This resulted in precision strikes on terrorist targets in Nigeria with airstrikes in the northwest,” the statement added.

Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and IS-linked splinter groups have wreaked havoc in northeastern Nigeria for more than a decade, leaving thousands dead.

Most of the victims are Muslims, according to Accred, an organization that analyzes political violence around the world.

Bulama Bukati, a Nigerian human rights lawyer and conflict analyst, speculated that Thursday’s airstrike targeted a relatively new Islamic State splinter group that originated in the Sahel region and recently moved its fighters to Nigeria.

He told the BBC World Service that Nigeria’s largest Islamic State affiliate, Islamic State West Africa Province, operates in the country’s northeast, but a smaller group known locally as Rakulawa is establishing a base in northwestern Sokoto state.

He added: “They started infiltrating Nigeria in 2018 but have set up camps in Sokoto and Kebbi states in the last 18 months to two years.

“They have been launching attacks and imposing social laws on the people of Sokoto State for the past 18 months or so.”

Local lawmaker Bashar Isa Jabo said there were no IS or Raqlawa members in the village, and said the area where the missile fell was less than 500 meters (1,600 feet) from the hospital.

According to BBC Monitoring, pro-IS social media channels have reported routine US reconnaissance flights in Sokoto and the northeastern state of Borno, where Nigeria’s largest IS affiliate is based.

The Nigeria airstrikes are the second major U.S. intervention targeting IS in recent weeks.

The United States announced last week that it had carried out a “major offensive” against IS in Syria.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery struck more than 70 targets. Jordanian aircraft also participated.

These airstrikes were launched in retaliation for the killing of three Americans, two soldiers and a civilian interpreter, in an ambush.