US launches strike against Islamic State militants in northwest Nigeria
(VOVWORLD) - The United States carried out a strike against Islamic State militants in northwest Nigeria at the request of Nigeria's government, President Donald Trump and the US military said on Thursday, claiming the group had been targeting Christians in the region.
 Newspapers with articles reporting US President Donald Trump's message to Nigeria over the treatment of Christians hang at a newspaper stand in Ojuelegba, Lagos, Nigeria November 2, 2025. (Photo: REUTERS/Sodiq Adelakun) |
The US military’s Africa Command said the strike was carried out in Sokoto state at the request of the Nigerian authorities and killed multiple ISIS militants.
The strike comes after Trump in late October began warning that Christianity faces an "existential threat" in Nigeria and threatened to militarily intervene in the West African country over what he says is its failure to stop violence targeting Christian communities.
The country's population is split between Muslims living primarily in the north and Christians in the south.
Police said earlier on Thursday a suspected suicide bomber killed at least five people and injured 35 others in Nigeria's northeast, another region troubled by Islamist insurgents.