US launches Christmas Day strikes on IS targets in Nigeria

US President Donald Trump. [AFP]

President Donald Trump said US forces conducted "powerful and deadly" strikes Thursday against Islamic State militants in northwestern Nigeria, weeks after he warned against any systemic assault on Christians in the country.

The Nigerian foreign ministry early Friday confirmed the air strikes, describing them as "precision hits on terrorist targets" in the country.

The Department of Defence's US Africa Command said "multiple ISIS terrorists" were killed in an attack in Sokoto state conducted at the request of Nigerian authorities, but few details were provided, and it was not clear how many people died.

The strikes hit IS targets on Christmas Day, according to Trump.

"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," he said in a post on his Truth Social platform.

"May God Bless our Military," he said, adding provocatively, "MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues."

The attacks mark the first by US forces in Nigeria under Trump, and come after the Republican leader unexpectedly berated the West African nation in October and November, saying Christians there faced an "existential threat" that amounted to "genocide" amid Nigeria's myriad armed conflicts.

That diplomatic offensive was welcomed by some but interpreted by others as inflaming religious tensions in Africa's most populous country, which has seen bouts of sectarian violence in the past.

Nigeria's government and independent analysts reject framing the country's violence in terms of religious persecution -- a narrative long used by the Christian right in the United States and Europe.

But Trump, spotlighting what his administration says is global persecution of Christians, stressed last month that Washington was ready to take military action in Nigeria -- with "guns-a-blazing" -- to counter such killings.

- 'Grateful' for cooperation -

The Nigerian foreign ministry said the country was engaged with international partners against terrorism.

"Nigerian authorities remain engaged in structured security cooperation with international partners, including the United States of America, in addressing the persistent threat of terrorism and violent extremism," the ministry said in a statement on Friday.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth took to X to say he was "grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation."

The United States this year placed Nigeria back on the list of countries of "particular concern" regarding religious freedom, and has restricted the issuance of visas to Nigerians.

Trump last month also threatened to stop all aid to Abuja if it "continues to allow the killing of Christians."

Nigeria is almost evenly divided between a Muslim-majority north and a largely Christian south.

Its northeast has been in the grip of jihadist violence for more than 15 years by the Islamist Boko Haram group, which has claimed more than 40,000 lives and displaced two million people.

 At the same time, large parts of the country's northwest, north and centre have been hit by criminal gangs known as "bandits" who attack villages, killing and kidnapping residents.

On Wednesday, an explosion ripped through a mosque in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, killing at least seven worshippers. No armed groups immediately claimed responsibility.