The U.S. has struck against the Islamic State in northwestern Nigeria after President Trump’s threat earlier this year to take military action if Nigeria’s government did not stop the killing of Christians by Islamist militants.
Mr. Trump did not specify which attacks he was referring to, nor did he cite evidence for the claim, made by several of his political allies, that Christians are being targeted in Nigeria.
More than a dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from a Navy ship in the Gulf of Guinea, striking two ISIS camps in Nigeria’s Sokoto State, according to a U.S. military official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters.
The strike killed “multiple” ISIS terrorists, according to an initial assessment by U.S. Africa Command.
Announcing the strikes on social media, Mr. Trump said “the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria,” accusing the group of “targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians.”
The Defense Department said it worked with the Nigerian government to carry out the strikes, which the Nigerian Foreign Ministry confirmed in a statement.
Source: New York Times
