The United States has conducted a military operation against elements of the Islamic State (ISIS) in northwestern Nigeria, in what the US administration calls a “powerful and lethal” action aimed at countering the threat of jihadist terrorism in the region.
The announcement came directly from President Donald Trump, who claimed responsibility for the operation through a message published on his social network Truth, adopting particularly harsh and highly symbolic tones: “Under my leadership, our country will not allow radical Islamic terrorism to thrive,” Trump wrote, underlining that the attack would have hit ISIS militants responsible, in his opinion, for massacres against innocent civilians, in particular Christians.
The president combined military communication with highly ideological and religious rhetoric, even going so far as to wish “Merry Christmas” to the killed terrorists, with the warning that the number of victims will increase if the violence continues.
In his full message, Trump explained that he had already warned jihadist militants that the massacre of Christians would not be tolerated and that the United States would make them pay “hell.” According to the president, the operation would have been conducted with “perfect attacks”, carried out by the Department of Defense – which Trump continues to call the “War Department” – reiterating the exceptional nature of the US military capability.
On an operational level, official confirmation also came from the US Military Command for Africa (Africom). In a post published on
According to the US command, the operation demonstrates “the US military’s strength and commitment to eliminating terrorist threats against Americans, at home and abroad”. The head of the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, also intervened to reinforce the political and strategic message of the administration. Also on
The Department of Defense, he added, is always ready to intervene, as ISIS “discovered” on Christmas night, also thanking the Nigerian government for its support and cooperation. For its part, Abuja officially confirmed the operation. Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry said the United States carried out “precision strikes against terrorist targets in Nigeria via air strikes.” In the note released this morning, the Nigerian government reiterated its commitment to structured security cooperation with international partners, including the United States, to address the persistent threat of terrorism and violent extremism.