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The Government of Nigeria and its Armed Forces confirmed this Friday that the recent airstrikes against targets of the terrorist group Islamic State (IS) in the northwest of the country were carried out jointly and in coordination with United States.
The statement comes hours after U.S. President Donald Trump publicly announced the bombings "as a Christmas gift" for the ISIS terrorists due to the killings of Christians in that African country, reported the agency EFE.
In an official statement, the spokesperson for the Nigerian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Samaila Uba, reported that the operations were conducted "in collaboration with the United States of America" and were aimed at foreign elements linked to ISIS operating in that region of the country.
"The attacks were based on credible information and careful operational planning, with the aim of weakening the terrorists' capacity while minimizing collateral damage," Uba stated.
For its part, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria confirmed the existence of structured cooperation on security matters with international partners, including the United States, to address the ongoing threat of terrorism and violent extremism.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this collaboration includes intelligence sharing, strategic coordination, and operational support, in accordance with international law and respect for national sovereignty.
“This has led to precision airstrikes against terrorist targets in northwestern Nigeria,” the ministry specified.
The official confirmation from Nigeria came after Trump announced on Thursday that the U.S. had launched a “powerful and deadly” attack against ISIS camps in the northwest of the African country.
According to information from the Pentagon, the operation included the launch of a dozen Tomahawk missiles from a U.S. Navy vessel deployed in the Gulf of Guinea.
The bombings were said to have caused multiple casualties in Sokoto state, near the border with Niger, although no official death toll has been provided.
In a message posted on his Truth Social network, Trump claimed that he had previously warned the terrorists that if they did not stop what he termed the "massacre of Christians," "a hell would be unleashed."
Since 2009, Nigeria has been facing a jihadist insurgency initially led by Boko Haram, a violence that intensified from 2016 with the emergence of its splinter group, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
Both groups seek to impose an Islamic state in the country, which has a Muslim majority in the north and a predominantly Christian population in the south.
According to official data, Boko Haram and ISWAP have caused over 35,000 deaths and approximately 2.7 million internally displaced persons, affecting not only Nigeria but also neighboring countries such as Cameroon, Chad, and Niger.
In November of last year, Trump had already denounced a supposed massacre of Christians in Nigeria and announced the designation of the country as a "country of particular concern" for violations of religious freedom, allegations that the Nigerian government rejected at the time, stating that they "do not reflect the reality on the ground."
The confirmation of the joint operation marks one of the most direct episodes of military cooperation between Nigeria and the United States in the fight against terrorism in West Africa.
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