President Donald Trump ordered military strikes against Islamic State militants in northwestern Nigeria on Christmas evening, fulfilling a threat he made weeks earlier to take action against groups he accused of targeting Christians in the West African nation. The strikes marked a significant escalation of American military involvement in a region where the U.S. security footprint has diminished in recent years.

Trump announced the operation on his Truth Social platform Thursday night, saying U.S. forces had launched "a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum" in Sokoto State, near Nigeria's border with Niger. He said the militants had been "targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians."

"I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was," Trump wrote.

A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the strikes were carried out by about a dozen Tomahawk missiles launched from a Navy warship in the Gulf of Guinea. The missiles hit two locations in Sokoto State, targeting what the official described as Islamic State-Sahel Province, an African branch of the extremist network.

Nigerian government confirms cooperation

The Nigerian government confirmed it had approved the operation and worked with Washington to carry it out. Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar told Nigerian broadcaster Channels Television on Friday that his country provided intelligence to the U.S. for the strikes and that he had spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio twice in the lead-up, including one call that lasted 19 minutes.

"This is what we've always been hoping for — to work with the Americans, work with other countries to combat terrorism," Tuggar said.

Nigeria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the cooperation included "exchange of intelligence, strategic coordination, and other forms of support consistent with international law, mutual respect for sovereignty, and shared commitments to regional and global security."

But Tuggar pushed back against Trump's framing of the violence as specifically targeting Christians. In interviews following the strikes, he emphasized that the operation was about combating terrorism, not religious conflict.

"When you try to reduce it to just say, 'Oh, no, it's Muslims killing Christians in Nigeria,' you see how you can get it completely wrong. It's a regional conflict," Tuggar told CNN.

Nigeria's population of roughly 230 million is split almost evenly between Muslims, who predominate in the north, and Christians, concentrated in the south. The government has consistently said armed groups target people of many faiths, not just Christians.

Trump delayed strike for symbolic timing

Trump told Politico in an interview Friday that the strikes were originally planned for Wednesday but he ordered them delayed by a day.

"They were going to do it earlier," Trump said. "And I said, 'nope, let's give a Christmas present.' ... They didn't think that was coming, but we hit them hard. Every camp got decimated."

Speaking to WABC radio host John Catsimatidis on Friday morning, Trump elaborated: "I said yesterday, 'Hit them on Christmas Day. It will be a Christmas present.' We hit ISIS, who are terrible. They are butchers. We really hit them hard in different locations. They really got hit hard yesterday. They got a very bad Christmas present."

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on X that "more to come" and expressed gratitude for Nigerian government support and cooperation. He signed off with "Merry Christmas!"

U.S. Africa Command confirmed the strikes in a statement, saying they were conducted "at the direction of the President of the United States and the Secretary of War, and in coordination with Nigerian authorities."

The target: Lakurawa militants in the northwest

Security analysts said the likely target of the strikes was the Lakurawa group, a militant organization that has grown increasingly lethal in northwestern Nigeria over the past year. The group, which claims affiliation with the Islamic State, has been active in border states like Sokoto and Kebbi, often attacking remote communities and security forces.

The Nigerian military has said the Lakurawa group has roots in neighboring Niger and became more active in Nigeria's border communities following a 2023 military coup there. That coup fractured relations between Nigeria and Niger and disrupted multinational military operations along the porous border.

According to Malik Samuel, a Nigerian security researcher with Good Governance Africa, the Lakurawa group controls territory in Sokoto and Kebbi states and has become known for killings, kidnappings, rape and armed robbery.

"In the northwest, there has been the incursion of violent extremist groups that are ideologically driven," Samuel said, attributing their growth to "the near absence of the state and security forces in hot spots."

The DC-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies reported in July that the Lakurawa group was suspected of establishing ties with Islamic terrorists and is equipped with surveillance drones and satellite communications. Initially hired to combat criminal gangs in the area, the group was responsible for 134 deaths in the 12 months prior while "cooperating with and operating more like bandits themselves," the center reported.

Weeks of warnings preceded the strikes

Trump's Christmas Day operation followed weeks of escalating pressure on Nigeria. In early November, he posted a video threatening to go "guns-a-blazing" into the country if the government did not stop what he called the persecution of Christians. Defense Secretary Hegseth echoed the message at the time, saying the Pentagon was "preparing for action."

The State Department designated Nigeria a "Country of Particular Concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act, citing "severe violations of religious freedom." The country was also added to the U.S. travel ban list of nations facing partial restrictions and entry limitations.

Earlier this month, Secretary of State Rubio announced that the State Department would restrict visas for Nigerians and their family members "who have directed, authorized, significantly supported, participated in, or carried out violations of religious freedom."

Nigeria has faced a wave of attacks on schools and churches in recent months. Last month, gunmen stormed the Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State, killing two people and kidnapping dozens. Days later, armed attackers raided St. Mary's School in Niger State, abducting more than 300 students and staff. More than 7,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria this year, according to the human rights group Intersociety.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, in a Christmas Eve post on X, said he prayed "for peace in our land, especially between individuals of differing religious beliefs."

"I stand committed to doing everything within my power to enshrine religious freedom in Nigeria and to protect Christians, Muslims, and all Nigerians from violence," Tinubu wrote.

Residents of the village of Jabo, near the strike site, told the Associated Press they saw the night sky glow bright red and felt intense heat from the attacks. Local farmer Sanusi Madabo said it was "almost like daytime." Government security forces cordoned off the area before casualties could be confirmed.