The United States has carried out airstrikes against Islamic State militants in north-west Nigeria, US President Donald Trump says, claiming the group had been targeting Christians in the region.
“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!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
President Donald Trump speaks at his Mar-a-Lago club earlier this week. Credit: AP
“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,” the post continued.
The strike was conducted at the request of Nigerian authorities, a US official told Reuters.
Islamic State West Africa Province is primarily active in the Chad Basin region and is involved in armed conflict against the governments of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger.
Nigeria is battling multiple armed groups in its troubled northern region, including Boko Haram. Several thousand people have been killed, with millions displaced from their homes since 2009, according to the United Nations.
Reuters
More to come.
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