"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 his Truth Social platform.
The US military's Africa Command said on social media platform X the strike in the state of Sokoto was conducted at the request of Nigerian authorities and killed multiple ISIS militants.
The strike comes after Trump starting in late October began warning that Christianity faces an "existential threat" in Nigeria and threatened to militarily intervene in the West African country over what he says is its failure to stop violence targeting Christian communities.
In November, Trump said he'd ordered the Pentagon to begin planning for potential military action in Nigeria following the claims of Christian persecution.
"(The Pentagon) worked with the government of Nigeria to carry out these strikes. These strikes were approved by the government of Nigeria," a Pentagon official said.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on X thanked the Nigerian government for its support and co-operation and added: "More to come..."
The State Department had announced in recent weeks it would restrict visas for Nigerians and their family members involved in mass killings and violence against Christians in the West African country.
The US recently designated Nigeria a "country of particular concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act.
Trump said in his Christmas post that US defence officials had "executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing".
"Our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper," Trump wrote.
Police said earlier on Thursday a suspected suicide bomber killed at least five people and injured 35 others in Nigeria's northeast, another region troubled by Islamist insurgents.
In a Christmas message posted on X earlier, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu called for peace in his country, "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," he wrote.
Nigeria's government has said armed groups target both Muslims and Christians, and US claims that Christians face persecution do not represent a complex security situation and ignore efforts to safeguard religious freedom.
But it has agreed to work with the US to bolster its forces against militant groups.
The nation's population is split between Muslims living primarily in the north and Christians in the south.
The US military last week launched separate large-scale strikes against dozens of Islamic State targets in Syria, after Trump vowed to hit back in the wake of a suspected ISIS attack on US personnel in the nation.
With AP
