US President Donald Trump said the United States carried out a “powerful and deadly strike” against the Islamic State group in north-western Nigeria. He described IS as “terrorist scum” and accused the group of “targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians”.

Trump said the US military “executed numerous perfect strikes” against the militant group. He did not give details about casualties or specific locations at the time.

Joint operation with Nigerian forces

The US Africa Command later clarified that the strike took place on Thursday in Nigeria’s Sokoto state. Africom said the operation was conducted in coordination with Nigerian authorities.

Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar confirmed this. He told the BBC that it was a “joint operation” aimed at “terrorists” and stressed that it “has nothing to do with a particular religion”.

Possibility of more strikes

Tuggar did not rule out further military action. He said future strikes would depend on “decisions to be taken by the leadership of the two countries”. This suggests continued cooperation between Washington and Abuja as they confront militant groups operating inside Nigeria.

Trump’s strong language on terrorism

In a post on Truth Social late Thursday, Trump said that “under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper”.

Earlier, in November, Trump had instructed the US military to prepare for possible action in Nigeria to counter Islamist militant groups. At that time, he did not specify which attacks or killings he was referring to.

Claims about religious violence questioned

In recent months, some right-wing groups in the US have claimed that Christians in Nigeria are facing genocide. However, organisations that track violence say there is no evidence to support this claim.

Groups monitoring conflict say Christians are not being killed more than Muslims in Nigeria, which has a population almost evenly split between the two religions.

Nigerian officials reject religious framing

An adviser to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu earlier told the BBC that any foreign military action should be carried out jointly. Daniel Bwala said Nigeria would welcome US support against Islamist insurgents but emphasised that Nigeria is a “sovereign” nation.

He also said militants were not targeting any one religion and had killed people “from all faiths, or none”.

President Tinubu has repeatedly said Nigeria practices religious tolerance. He has insisted that insecurity affects people “across faiths and regions”.

US designation raises tensions

Trump previously announced that he had designated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern”. He said this was due to what he called an “existential threat” to Christians and claimed that “thousands” had been killed, without presenting evidence.

This designation is used by the US State Department for countries accused of “severe violations of religious freedom” and can lead to sanctions.

After the announcement, Tinubu said Nigeria was ready to work with the US and the international community to protect citizens of all religions.

Long-running violence in Nigeria

Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province have carried out attacks in north-eastern Nigeria for more than a decade. Thousands have been killed during this insurgency.

However, data from ACLED, which tracks political violence globally, shows that most of the victims have been Muslims.

In central Nigeria, clashes also occur between mostly Muslim herders and largely Christian farming communities over land, water, and grazing routes. These conflicts have led to repeated revenge attacks, with heavy casualties on both sides.

Human rights groups say there is no proof that Christians are being targeted more than others.

US actions beyond Nigeria

Separately, the US last week announced that it carried out a “massive strike” against Islamic State targets in Syria.

The US Central Command said fighter jets, attack helicopters, and artillery hit more than 70 targets across central Syria. Aircraft from Jordan also took part in that operation.