“There Will Be More”

• Trump offered that the United States implemented “highly effective and lethal” airstrikes in opposition to ISIS targets in Northwest Nigeria on December 25, 2025, citing the protection of Christians facing violent attacks.
• The operation, accomplished by AFRICOM with precision strikes reportedly collectively with Tomahawk missiles, focused militant camps in Sokoto Bellow.
• While Trump framed the motion as a response to non secular persecution, each and each AFRICOM and Nigeria’s authorities confirmed the strikes agree with been performed in coordination with Nigerian authorities amid heightened diplomatic stress and security cooperation. U.S. officers signaled that extra motion might perchance observe.

In a dramatic escalation of U.S. defense pressure involvement in West Africa, President Donald Trump offered on Christmas night that he authorized “highly effective and lethal” airstrikes in opposition to ISIS targets in Northwest Nigeria.

The strikes, which took blueprint on December 25, 2025, agree with been characterized by the President as an immediate response to the ongoing persecution and “slaughter” of the Christian population in the assign.

The “Hell to Pay” Warning

Taking to his Truth Social platform, Trump published that the operation changed into once the success of a outdated ultimatum he had issued to terrorist teams working inner Nigeria.

“Tonight, at my route as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a highly effective and lethal strike in opposition to ISIS terrorist scum in Northwest Nigeria, who agree with been focusing on and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians… I truly agree with previously warned these terrorists that if they did now not pause the slaughtering of Christians, there might perchance be hell to pay, and tonight, there changed into once.”

Execution of the Strikes

The operation, accomplished by the Division of War (Pentagon) and U.S. Africa Repeat (AFRICOM), reportedly fervent precision strikes—collectively with Tomahawk missiles launched from U.S. Navy vessels—focusing on militant camps in Sokoto Bellow.

“The Division of War accomplished a mountainous collection of supreme strikes, as simplest the United States is in a position to doing. Beneath my leadership, our nation will now now not allow radical Islamic terrorism to prosper. Also can God bless our defense pressure, and Merry Christmas to all, collectively with the plain terrorists of which there’ll likely be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues.”

Coordination with the Nigerian Authorities

While Trump’s rhetoric focused heavily on non secular persecution, AFRICOM and the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the strikes agree with been performed in coordination with native authorities.

The Nigerian authorities described the operation as “precision hits on terrorist targets” following structured security cooperation. This comes after weeks of diplomatic friction, for the length of which Trump had redesignated Nigeria as a “Nation of Particular Danger” and threatened to withdraw serve if the security remark of affairs did now not toughen.

Regional Implications

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed the President’s stance, thanking Nigeria for its cooperation while signaling that this might perchance even merely now now not be a one-off tournament. “More to attain,” he posted on X.