Shock Wave: Why the US attacked Islamist militants in Nigeria

The United States has attacked the militants of the Islamic State (IS, an organization recognized as a terrorist organization and banned in Russia) in Nigeria. The Pentagon reported that they are preparing for new actions in defense of Christians in this African country. The intensification of attacks on Islamist terrorist groups in Nigeria, where a significant proportion of the population professes Christianity, fits into Trump's concept of protecting co—religionists, but the systemic involvement of the United States in religious confrontation in this country is an unlikely scenario, experts say. The fight against terrorism remains a central issue in Africa, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.

US strike against terrorists in Nigeria

The United States has launched a targeted strike against Islamic State terrorists in northwestern Nigeria. The elimination of targets was announced by President Donald Trump on his Truth Social network on the night of December 26.

"Earlier, I warned these terrorists that if they do not stop the massacre of Christians, they will have to pay a hell of a price — and this happened tonight," he wrote.

The command of the US Armed Forces in Africa (AFRICOM) has announced that it has attacked IS terrorists in the state of Sokoto. It is reported that several militants have been eliminated. The Nigerian Foreign Ministry confirmed the cooperation of the country's authorities with the United States in planning and launching strikes. U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, in turn, assured that the Pentagon is preparing for new actions to protect Christians in Nigeria.

At the end of October, Donald Trump rebuked the leadership of Nigeria, the largest country in West Africa, allegedly because of the systematic persecution of Christians. He even added this state to the list of "causing particular concern" regarding the violation of religious freedoms of citizens.

— The current US intervention is due to the aggravation of relations with Nigeria that occurred in early November. It happened largely as a result of the actions of the American lobby of supporters of secession in southwestern Nigeria. The lobby's efforts are aimed at working with evangelicals and American lawmakers. In particular, Senator Ted Cruz is inclining the current American administration to a more interventionist foreign policy," Alexander Shipilov, a researcher at the Institute of International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Associate professor of Oriental Studies at MGIMO, told Izvestia.

The overnight strike on militants in northwestern Nigeria indicates that the escalation between Washington and Abuja is most likely over, said Vsevolod Sviridov, deputy director of the HSE Center for African Studies.

"The Nigerian authorities have managed to reverse the narrative — now the Nigerian government is not condoning the "genocide of Christians," but is fighting terrorism together with the United States," he told Izvestia. — Moreover, in recent months, amid Trump's statements, Nigeria's dialogue with China and France on security has intensified. Contacts with Beijing and Paris are an element of Washington's deterrence.

About 45% of the Nigerian population professes Christianity, and about half - Islam. Terrorism on religious grounds remains a serious problem for the country. On December 24, a terrorist attack took place in a mosque in the city of Maiduguri in the northeast of the country. According to law enforcement officials, 35 people were injured, five died. It is assumed that the terrorist attack could have been committed by the Boko Haram group. In late November, a group of armed men abducted over 300 students and 12 teachers from St. Mary's Catholic Boarding School in Papiri, western Nigeria. In June, at least 100 people were killed in a massacre in the Christian village of Yelvata. According to the Nigerian Human Rights Agency, at least 2,266 people were killed on religious grounds in the first half of 2025 alone, compared with 2,194 in the whole of 2024.

— Attacks on Islamists in Nigeria are, first of all, an open signal to the gang. The United States is demonstrating that it is determined, and the fight will not be limited solely to the Syrian foothold," orientalist Leonid Tsukanov told Izvestia. — Nigeria, as an African country with a large proportion of the Christian population, fits well into Trump's concept of protecting co-religionists, and adds political points to him among the conservative electorate. And given that the radicals are acting quite brazenly and decisively in Nigeria, the forceful reaction of the American president is quite logical.

According to Vsevolod Sviridov, the US strikes have little to do with saving civilians in northern Nigeria from banditry, organized crime groups and terrorism.

"The Pentagon has received an additional channel for collecting information in the region — in November, following the visit of the National Security Adviser to Nigerian President Nuhu Ribada to Washington, the US—Nigeria security working group was established," he said. — Trump has achieved his goal — a Christmas gift to the electorate.

The problem of terrorism in Africa

US strikes on militants in Nigeria may be repeated, for example, by Easter, Vsevolod Sviridov believes. The scheme has been worked out in Somalia, where the Pentagon strikes terrorist sites about once every two months. However, the systemic involvement of the United States in the conflict in Nigeria remains an unlikely scenario.

— For the United States, the strike seems to be an acceptable way out of the earlier crisis, as it demonstrates the previously stated determination to protect Nigerian Christians, however, it allows us to limit ourselves to a one-time action, which became a compromise between the "hawks" and isolationists surrounded by the American president. Therefore, further participation of the United States in the fight against jihadists in northern Nigeria and in neighboring countries seems extremely unlikely," believes Alexander Shipilov.

According to him, radical Islamist terrorist groups (primarily Boko Haram, as well as those who have sworn allegiance to ISIS) have become widespread in northeastern Nigeria, near Lake Chad, since the early 2010s. In recent years, Government forces have achieved limited success in stabilizing the situation in this area. The current strikes have been carried out in the north-west of the country. These areas are not part of the traditional area of these groups, but over the past five years they have become the scene of gang wars by local warlords and militias, driven primarily by economic motives.

By the way, Nasir Suleiman, a correspondent for the Nigerian Arise TV channel, reported that the strike announced by Trump fell on an area where locals had not heard of terrorists for at least the last 10 years.

Nigeria and Somalia are far from the only African countries suffering from terrorism. This problem is particularly acute for countries located south of the Sahara, explains Leonid Tsukanov.

— In some countries, radicals use the ethnic factor as a propaganda base, projecting radical ideas on the struggle between local nationalities, for example, in Mali and the Central African Republic. In some countries, such as Mozambique and Lake Chad, they create full-fledged military bases or control part of the country's territory. African states are not always able to counter this threat alone, both because of a lack of funds and because of problems with the motivation of personnel," the analyst noted.

For example, Russia is actively providing assistance in the fight against terrorism in the Central African Republic. In mid-December, it became known that 20 militants of the Union for Peace in the Central African Republic (UPC) had surrendered to Russian instructors. Defense Minister Claude Rameau Biro previously stated that the Central African Republic, with the help of Russia, regained control of almost all of its territory, and only in 2025, instructors from the Russian Federation trained 2.6 thousand military personnel of the Central African Republic.

The UN states that Africa remains the epicenter of international terrorism. The organization's First Deputy Secretary General, Amina Mohammed, previously noted that sub-Saharan Africa accounts for almost 59% of all deaths at the hands of terrorists. In the coastal countries of West Africa, the number of violent attacks increased three and a half times in 2023-2024.