Trump: Tension In North As US Likely To Bomb More Terrorist States

The United States has conducted military strikes against militants affiliated with the Islamic State group (IS) in northwestern Nigeria, where these militants have attempted to establish a presence.

The strikes targeted camps operated by the group in Sokoto State, which is located along Nigeria’s border with Niger.

According to the US military, an initial assessment indicated that there were “multiple” fatalities resulting from these operations.

President Donald Trump characterized the strikes conducted on Christmas Day as “powerful and deadly,” referring to the group as “terrorist scum.” He noted that the militants have been “targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians.”

In response, Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar stated in an interview with the BBC that the operation was a collaborative effort and emphasized that it was “nothing to do with a particular religion.”

Tuggar said the strikes had been planned “for quite some time” and had used intelligence information provided by Nigeria. He also did not rule out further strikes.

Referencing the timing of the strikes, he said they did not have “anything to do with Christmas, it could be any other day – it is to do with attacking terrorists who have been killing Nigerians”.

The Nigerian government has for several years been fighting a complex network of jihadist groups, which includes Boko Haram and IS-linked splinter groups, but largely in the north-east of the country, hundreds of miles away from Sokoto state.

Eyewitness Umar Jabo told BBC News that the attack took place late on Thursday night near the village of Jabo: “Everyone thought it was a plane. It crashed in fields.

“Here in Jabo, we live peacefully, and there is no conflict between us and Christians and us,” he added, denying that any IS fighters had been killed.

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”.

The US military was ordered to prepare to intervene in Nigeria in November.