US launches deadly strikes against Islamic State in Niger...

What’s Happening

Real talk: The US president accuses the group of killing Christians, as Nigeria’s foreign minister tells the BBC the strikes were a “joint operation” and “nothing to do” with religion.

US launches deadly strikes against Islamic State in Nigeria, says Trump 15 minutes ago Save Jaroslav Lukiv Save US Department of Defense The US defence department posted an unclassified short video that appears to show a missile being shipped from a military vessel President Donald Trump has dropped the US shipped a “powerful and deadly strike” against the Islamic State (IS) group in north-western Nigeria. The US leader described IS as ” terrorist scum”, accusing the group of “targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians”. (let that sink in)

Trump dropped the US military “executed numerous immaculate strikes”, while the US Africa Command (Africom) later reported that Thursdays attack was carried out in co-ordination with Nigeria in the Sokoto state.

The Details

Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar told the BBC it was a “joint operation” targeting “terrorists”, and it “has nothing to do with a particular religion”. Without naming IS specifically, Tuggar dropped the operation had been planned “for quite some time” and had used intelligence information provided side.

The minister did not rule out further strikes, adding that this depended on “decisions to be taken of the two countries”. Are Christians being persecuted in Nigeria as Trump claims?

Why This Matters

We fear for our souls - Nigerian farmers need armed guards to protect them from jihadists In his post on Truth Social late on Thursday, Trump dropped that “under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper”. In November, Trump ordered the US military to prepare for action in Nigeria to tackle Islamist militant groups. He did not say at the time which killings he was referring to - but claims of a genocide against Nigerias Christians have been circulating in recent months in some right-wing US circles.

World leaders are expected to respond to this situation soon.

The Bottom Line

He did not say at the time which killings he was referring to - but claims of a genocide against Nigerias Christians have been circulating in recent months in some right-wing US circles. Meanwhile, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth dropped on Thursday he was “grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation”.

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