President Donald Trump said the U.S. launched airstrikes in northwest Nigeria on Christmas night targeting ISIS militants he accused of slaughtering Christians, calling the operation decisive and warning more attacks will follow if the violence continues.
“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!” Trump wrote on Thursday on Truth Social.
“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. The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing.”
“Under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper,” he continued. “May God Bless our Military, and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues.”
U.S. Africa Command confirmed the strikes late Thursday, saying they were carried out in coordination with Nigerian authorities.
“At the direction of the President of the United States and the Secretary of War, and in coordination with Nigerian authorities, U.S. Africa Command conducted strikes against ISIS terrorists in Nigeria on Dec. 25, 2025, in Sokoto State,” AFRICOM said in a post on X.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz praised the action, pointing to the administration’s focus on protecting Christians facing violence abroad.
“Merry Christmas to the Christians in Nigeria and around the world who know tonight that the President of the United States will fight for them,” Waltz wrote on X.
Republicans on Capitol Hill also applauded the operation.
“I commend President Trump, Secretary Hegseth, and our brave troops for these strikes against bloodthirsty ISIS savages who are not only persecuting Christians, but also have killed many Americans,” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said Thursday.
The strikes followed a blunt warning from Trump last month, when he threatened to “do things in Nigeria that Nigeria is not going to be happy about” and vowed to “go into that now disgraced country guns-a-blazing” if the attacks continued.
That warning set the stage for the Christmas-night operation, which Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said delivered on the president’s demand that the killings stop.
“The President was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end,” Hegseth wrote on X. “The @DeptofWar is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight — on Christmas. More to come…
“Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation,” he added. “Merry Christmas!”
Nearly a month later, the Trump administration also rolled out a new visa-restriction policy in response to a wave of brutal anti-Christian attacks in Nigeria, targeting those accused of orchestrating religious violence against Christians in the West African nation and beyond.
