WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.(National times)- President Donald Trump said Thursday that the U.S. launched a \u201cpowerful and deadly\u201d strike against Islamic State forces in Nigeria, after spending weeks accusing the West African country\u2019s government of failing to rein in the persecution of Christians. In a Christmas evening post on his social media site, Trump did not provide details or mention the extent of the damage caused by the strikes. A Defense Department official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss details not made public, said the U.S. worked with Nigeria to carry out the strikes, and that they\u2019d been approved by that country\u2019s government. Nigeria\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the cooperation included exchange of intelligence and strategic coordination in ways \u201cconsistent with international law, mutual respect for sovereignty and shared commitments to regional and global security.\u201d Trump said the airstrikes were launched against Islamic State militants \u201cwho have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians.\u201d Residents and security analysts have said Nigeria\u2019s security crisis affects both Christians, predominant in the south, and Muslims, who are the majority in the north. Nigeria is battling multiple armed groups, including at least two affiliated with the Islamic State \u2014 an offshoot of the Boko Haram extremist group known as the Islamic State West Africa Province in the northeast, and the less-known Lakurawa group prominent in the northwestern states like Sokoto where the gangs use large swathes of forests connecting states as hideouts. Security analysts said the target of the U.S. strikes could be the Lakurawa group, which in the last year has increasingly become lethal in the region, often targeting remote communities and security forces. \u201cLakurawa is a group that is actually controlling territories in Nigeria, in Sokoto state and in other states like Kebbi,\u201d said Malik Samuel, a Nigerian security researcher at Good Governance Africa. \u201cIn the northwest, there has been the incursion of violent extremist groups that are ideologically driven,\u201d he said, blaming the incursion on the near absence of the state and security forces in hot spots. Nigeria\u2019s government has previously said in response to Trump\u2019s criticisms that people of many faiths, not just Christians, have suffered attacks at the hands of extremists groups. Trump ordered the Pentagon last month to begin planning for potential military action in Nigeria to try and curb the so-called Christian persecution. The State Department recently announced it would restrict visas for Nigerians and their family members involved in killing Christians there. And the U.S. recently designated Nigeria a \u201ccountry of particular concern\u201d under the International Religious Freedom Act. Trump said the U.S. defense officials had \u201cexecuted numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing\u201d and added that \u201cour Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper.\u201d Nigeria\u2019s population of 220 million is split almost equally between Christians and Muslims. The country has long faced insecurity from various fronts including the Boko Haram extremist group, which seeks to establish its radical interpretation of Islamic law and has also targeted Muslims it deems not Muslim enough. But attacks in Nigeria often have varying motives. There are religiously motivated ones targeting both Christians and Muslims, clashes between farmers and herders over dwindling resources, communal rivalries, secessionist groups and ethnic clashes. The U.S. security footprint has diminished in Africa, where military partnerships have either been scaled down or canceled. U.S. forces likely would have to be drawn from other parts of the world for any larger-scale military intervention in Nigeria. Trump has nonetheless kept up the pressure as Nigeria faced a series of attacks on schools and churches in violence that experts and residents say targets both Christians and Muslims. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted Thursday night on X: \u201cThe President was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end.\u201d Hegseth said that U.S. military forces are \u201calways ready, so ISIS found out tonight \u2014 on Christmas\u201d and added, \u201cMore to come\u2026Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation\u201d before signing off, \u201cMerry Christmas!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.(National times)- President Donald Trump said Thursday that the U.S. launched a \u201cpowerful and deadly\u201d strike against Islamic State forces in Nigeria, after spending weeks accusing the West African country\u2019s government of failing to rein in the persecution of Christians. In a Christmas evening post on his social media site, Trump did […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":118216,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-118215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n