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The United States carried out airstrikes against militants linked to the Islamic State group in northwestern Nigeria on December 25, 2025, targeting militant camps in Sokoto state.

U.S. President Donald Trump described the airstrike as a “powerful and deadly” operation conducted with the approval and cooperation of the Nigerian government.

Trump announced the operation in a Christmas evening post on social media, accusing militants of “targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians.”

The U.S. did not provide details on the scale of the operation or the extent of damage caused, but Trump said U.S. forces had executed “numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing,” adding that “our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper.”

Joint US-Nigerian Operation

A U.S. Department of War official said the strikes were carried out in coordination with Nigeria and had been approved by authorities in Abuja.

Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the cooperation, saying it involved intelligence sharing and strategic coordination conducted in ways “consistent with international law, mutual respect for sovereignty and shared commitments to regional and global security.”

Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar said the operation was joint and had “nothing to do with a particular religion.” Speaking about the timing of the strikes, he said they had been planned “for quite some time” and stressed that they did not have “anything to do with Christmas.” Tuggar also did not rule out further strikes.

"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…" – President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/AUUmTMABSs

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) December 26, 2025

The U.S. military said an initial assessment suggested “multiple” militant fatalities in Sokoto state, though casualty figures remain unclear. Nigerian officials also confirmed that militants were killed but said it was too early to provide precise numbers.

Focus on the Lakurawa Militant Group

Security analysts and local officials indicated that the primary target of the strikes was likely the Lakurawa group, a lesser-known but increasingly lethal militant organization operating in northwestern Nigeria.

Lakurawa has sought to establish control over rural areas of Sokoto and neighboring Kebbi state, using dense forest areas as hideouts and launching attacks on remote communities and security forces.

“Lakurawa is a group that is actually controlling territories in Nigeria, in Sokoto state and in other states like Kebbi,” said Malik Samuel, a Nigerian security researcher.

“In the northwest, there has been the incursion of violent extremist groups that are ideologically driven,” he said, attributing their expansion to the near absence of state authority and security forces in key hotspots.

The chairman of Tangaza local government area in Sokoto state, Isa Salihu Bashir, said the airstrikes “hit some Lakurawa terrorist camps.” He said many fighters had been killed but could not confirm the death toll, adding that border patrols on the Niger side reported seeing militants fleeing the targeted areas.

.@POTUS “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… pic.twitter.com/ct7rUW128t

— Department of War 🇺🇸 (@DeptofWar) December 26, 2025

Religious Dimension Disputed

Trump has repeatedly accused Nigeria’s government of failing to protect Christians from extremist violence and has framed the latest strikes as a response to attacks on Christian communities. “They have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians,” he said.

Nigerian officials and residents, however, have rejected claims that the violence is directed at one religious group alone. “Terrorist violence in any form, whether directed at Christians, Muslims, or other communities, remains an affront to Nigeria’s values and to international peace and security,” Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Nigeria’s government has previously emphasized that extremist attacks affect people of many faiths. The country’s security crisis includes religiously motivated violence, but also conflicts driven by competition over land and resources, communal rivalries, ethnic tensions, criminal banditry, and separatist movements.

US Pressure on Nigeria Intensifies

The airstrikes come amid increased pressure from Washington on Abuja. Last month, Trump ordered the Pentagon to begin planning for potential military action in Nigeria, citing what he called the persecution of Christians.

The U.S. State Department has since announced visa restrictions targeting Nigerians and their family members involved in the killings of Christians.

The United States has also designated Nigeria a “country of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act, a classification reserved for countries accused of severe violations of religious freedom and one that can open the door to sanctions.

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth reinforced the administration’s stance in a post late Thursday, saying, “The President was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end.”

He added that U.S. military forces are “always ready, so ISIS found out tonight, on Christmas,” and wrote, “More to come. Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation,” before signing off, “Merry Christmas!”

Nigeria’s Complex Security Landscape

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country with around 220 million people, is divided almost evenly between Christians and Muslims. For more than a decade, it has faced insurgency from Boko Haram and Islamic State-linked factions, primarily in the northeastern state of Borno. These groups have killed thousands of people and displaced millions.

Most victims of jihadist violence in Nigeria have been Muslims, according to conflict monitoring groups. Human rights lawyer and conflict analyst Bulama Bukati said the Lakurawa fighters began slipping into Nigeria around 2018 and over the past two years had established camps in Sokoto and Kebbi states.

“They have been launching attacks and imposing their social laws over people in Sokoto state over the past 18 months or so,” he said.

The Nigeria strikes mark the second major U.S. operation against Islamic State targets in recent weeks. Last week, U.S. forces carried out a large-scale strike against IS in Syria, hitting more than 70 targets with fighter jets, attack helicopters, and artillery in retaliation for the killing of three Americans.

Despite these actions, the overall U.S. military footprint in Africa has diminished in recent years, with several partnerships scaled down or canceled. Any larger-scale intervention in Nigeria would likely require redeploying forces from other regions. For now, both Washington and Abuja are signaling continued cooperation, even as disagreements persist over how to frame the violence and its underlying causes.