--- title: "US targets ISIS with multiple strikes in Nigeria" description: "The Christmas day attacks in the country’s northwestern Sokoto state are the first direct strike against militants in Nigeria by the U.S." date: "2025-12-26" modified: "2025-12-26" authors: - name: "Nicholas Slayton" job_title: "Contributing Editor" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/nicholas-slayton/" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/us-strikes-nigeria-sokoto/" categories: - "Africa" - "Around the World" - "News" --- # US targets ISIS with multiple strikes in Nigeria ![A missile launches in a plume of fire from a U.S. warship as part of strikes against ISIS in Nigeria on Dec. 25, 2025.]() *An American warship fires a missile on Christmas day. Screenshot via the Department of Defense on X.* American forces carried out strikes northwest Nigeria on Thursday, targeting Islamic State militants in northwest Nigeria. President Donald Trump announced the operation on social media Thursday afternoon. He said the attack was against ISIS, which he said was killing Christian Nigerians in the country’s northwest. Trump did not provide many details on the operation, although U.S. Africa Command said in its own release that it hit several ISIS camps in the Sokoto state. At least one strike occurred in the village of Jabo; residents there [told]() the Associated Press a large explosion occurred late on Thursday in the area, which had not seen terrorists attack. AFRICOM confirmed that multiple airstrikes were conducted, with a Department of Defense [video]() released afterward showing at least one missile launched from a ship. AFRICOM also said that multiple ISIS terrorists” were killed although that has not been independently confirmed. [Photos shared]() by Reuters in the last hour of the aftermath at Jabo show burn marks on fields. Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar confirmed to both [al-Jazeera]() and the [BBC]() that the Nigeria government coordinated with the United States ahead of the attack and the strikes had been planned “for quite some time.” Tuggar told the BBC that the attacks on Thursday had “nothing to do with a particular religion.” Posting on X, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth [warned]() of “More to come…” In November, Trump warned of possible American military action in Nigeria, accusing the government of allowing widespread violence against Christians to occur. The populous nation is largely split between Christians in the south and Muslims in the north, and currently has many ongoing internal conflicts. [Researchers have said]() most of the violence in the north is actually committed against other Muslims, and much of the conflict in Nigeria is more along [economic]() than sectarian lines. It’s the first U.S. strike in Nigeria. Reuters [reported]() that in recent weeks the U.S. military has flown repeated surveillance flights over the country. American forces have carried out dozens of airstrikes this year in [Somalia](), including some conducted by the Truman Carrier Strike Group from the Red Sea near the start of 2025 — with many targeting ISIS fighters in that east African nation. ## Author Nicholas Slayton is a contributing editor for Task & Purpose, covering conflict for over 12 years, from the Arab Spring to the war in Ukraine. His previous reporting can be found on the non-profit Aslan Media, The Atlantic, Al Jazeera, The New Republic, The American Prospect, Architectural Digest, The Daily Beast, and the Los Angeles Downtown News. You can reach him at nicholas@taskandpurpose.com or find him on Twitter @NSlayton and Bluesky at @nslayton.bsky.social. ### Author social links [Twitter]()