President Donald Trump
The US has launched targeted and deadly strikes against militants connected to the Islamic State group (IS) in north-western Nigeria, where militants have established a foothold, President Donald Trump said.
Trump confirmed the strikes when told Politico he ordered the 25 December strikes as “a Christmas present”. Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar told the BBC it was a “joint operation” and had “nothing to do with a particular religion”. Camps run by IS in Sokoto state were hit near the border with Niger, the US military said. Casualty numbers could not be confirmed, but both US and Nigerian officials say militants were killed.
Tuggar said the strikes had been planned “for quite some time” using intelligence provided by Nigeria. He did not rule out further strikes. Referring to the timing of strikes, which took place late on Thursday, he said they did not have “anything to do with Christmas”. Contradicting the initial statement by Trump when he told Politico in an interview that “They were going to do it earlier,” Trump said of the airstrikes. “And I said, ‘nope, let’s give a Christmas present.’
One strike hit a field near a village in Sokoto state
“They didn’t think that was coming, but we hit them hard. Every camp got decimated.” The US military said an “initial assessment” suggested “multiple” fatalities in Sokoto state.
A local official in the Tangaza area of Sokoto state, Isa Salihu Bashir, told the BBC the strikes had “hit some Lakurawa terrorist camps”. He said many fighters had been killed but the death toll was unclear.
Bashir added that border patrols on the Niger side reported seeing Lakurawa fighters fleeing the targeted areas.
The Nigerian government has long been fighting an array of jihadist groups, including Boko Haram and IS-linked factions, but largely in the north-east.
But in recent years a smaller group – known locally as Lakurawa – has sought to establish a base in north-western Sokoto state.
Nigerian authorities say the group has links to jihadist networks in Mali and Niger. They add that its members have settled in border communities, recruited young people, and imposed harsh controls.
Tangaza is made up of remote villages, whose residents are mostly moderate Muslims.
In a statement late on Friday, Nigeria’s information ministry said “precision strike operations” had been carried with the “explicit approval” of President Bola Tinubu and with “the full involvement of the armed forces of Nigeria”.
It also said that during the operation debris from munitions fell in two communities – the village of Jabo, also in Sokoto state, and Offa in Kwara state, about 600km (370 miles) to the south. No civilian casualties were reported in either location.
Umar Jabo, an eyewitness in Jabo, told the reporters: “Something that looked like a plane flashed and crashed… in fields.”
He said there was no issue with IS in the area: “We live peacefully, and there is no conflict between us and Christians.”
The Trump administration has previously accused the Nigerian government of failing to protect Christians from jihadist attacks and has claimed a “genocide” is being perpetrated.
Trump has labelled Nigeria a “country of particular concern”, a designation used by the US state department that provides for sanctions against countries “engaged in severe violations of religious freedom”.
