Overview
- AFRICOM and Nigeria’s foreign ministry said several ISIS-affiliated fighters were killed in strikes in Sokoto State late on Christmas night.
- President Trump announced the operation on social media, casting it as punishment for militants he said were massacring Christians.
- U.S. defense officials released footage of a nighttime missile launch from a Navy warship, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth thanked Abuja for its cooperation.
- AFRICOM described the action as coordinated with Nigerian authorities, after briefly posting that it occurred at Nigeria’s request before deleting that phrasing.
- Analysts say northwest Nigeria hosts overlapping jihadist groups and bandit networks funded by mass kidnappings, a volatile setting as U.S. engagement increases following a regional reshuffle involving France and Russia.