USA Carries Out Air Strikes in Nigeria at Islamic State Targets
- The United States President Donald Trump ordered a military airstrike in northwest Nigeria against Islamic State targets
- ISIS has been accused of systematically targeting Christians in the region after thousands of Christians were killed
- Donald Trump said that the airstrike was conducted at the request of the Nigerian government, and netizens weighed in on the attack
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Tebogo Mokwena, affiliated with Briefly News, covered local and international politics, political analysis, and interviews in South Africa for Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News during his 10 years of experience.
Source: Getty Images
NIGERIA — The United States of America has carried out an airstrike in the northwest regions of Nigeria on 25 December 2025. The White House made the announcement on X on Christmas Day.
The White House said on its @WhiteHouse X account that the attack wascarried out in Sokoto state and coordinated with the Nigerian government. United States President Donald Trump said that the attack took place in response to the killing of Christians in Nigeria.
Trump had been warning the Islamic State that Christianity faces anexistential threat and said he would intervene in the country should violence towards Christians cease. According to SABC News, the United States had been carrying out intelligence-gathering in parts of the country since November.
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View the X statement here:
EFF responds to the air strike
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) responded to the United States' airstrike. In a scathing statement, the party slammed Trump for the incident. The party said that the airstrikes represented the US's military imperialism in Africa. The party said that the US reduced socioeconomic issues in Nigeria, like poverty, state failure, land dispossession, and instability, into a narrative of Muslims killing Christians.
The United States also recently sanctioned two International Criminal Court judges in December, accusing them of targeting Israel. The EFF slammed Trump's decision and labelled it as a brazen attack on judicial independence. The party accused Donald Trump's administration of undermining international law and seeks to protect its allies from accountability.
What did South Africans say?
South Africans commenting on Facebook shared theories about why Trump attacked ISIS in Sokoto state.
Ziko zoki said:
"One strike equals four million barrels of crudeoil which will be shipped out for free."
Professa Sakatura Tararo said:
"We are now well aware that America doesn't just attack. They attack with a motive to gain access to something worthy."
Kunene Kayise asked:
"Why not lend Nigeria the ammunition to protect its people?"
Donald Trump bans more African countries
In a related article, Briefly News reported that on 16 December 2025, Donald Trump added more African countries to his travel ban list. This brings the total number of nations Trump banned to 39, with the ban taking effect on 1 January 2026.
Trump said that the move aimed to expand and strengthen the US's entry restrictions from countries that demonstrated persistent and severe deficiencies in screening and vetting. The White House said many of the countries suffer from widespread corruption, unreliable civil documentation, and fraudulent criminal records.
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Source: Briefly News
