U.S. Strikes ISIS in Nigeria
Dec. 27—U.S. President Donald Trump announced last night that he had ordered strikes on ISIS targets in Nigeria. “Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!” he said on Truth Social. “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. The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing. Under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper. May God Bless our Military, and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues.”
U.S. Africa Command reported that its initial assessment was that multiple ISIS terrorists were killed in the camps. “U.S. Africa Command is working with Nigerian and regional partners to increase counterterrorism cooperation efforts related to ongoing violence and threats against innocent lives,” said Gen. Dagvin Anderson, commander of the U.S. Africa Command. “Our goal is to protect Americans and to disrupt violent extremist organizations wherever they are.”
He further noted the Nigerian government had given its approval for the strike, which had been planned for some time in advance. Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar told CNN Dec. 26, that he had spoken with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio prior to the strike and that Nigerian President Bola Tinubu had given the “go ahead.”
“This is not about religion. It is about Nigerians [being killed], innocent civilians, and the wider region as a whole,” Tuggar said. “When you talk about the Sahel, [the] majority are Muslims. They’re not Christians.”
“Whoever is prepared to work with us to fight terrorism, we’re ready, willing, and able,” he said later, adding: “We demonstrated this yesterday.”
Officially, the U.S. hasn’t said how the strikes were carried out, but the Pentagon did release a 9-second video showing what appears to be a Tomahawk cruise missile being launched from an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer. The UK Defence Journal website identified the destroyer as the USS Paul Ignatius. The Pentagon has not confirmed how many missiles were used or provided detail on target locations, damage assessments, or casualties, UKDJ adds.
Sources report that while the President might believe that he is taking these actions to help Nigerian Christians, some of his geopolitical strategists, including his gusano Secretary of State Marco Rubio are looking for the U.S. to get a military foothold in this mineral rich area of Africa, which contains some of the world's largest uranium deposits. These sources say that the U.S. may be looking for a military base in the region to conduct continued operations against ISIS, as well as other state actors deemed harmful to U.S. interests.