Europe (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – On December 25, 2025, U.S. forces and Nigeria struck ISIS-linked Lakurawa militants in Jabo village with a dozen Tomahawk missiles, following Trump’s warning over attacks on Christians.
As Reuters News reported, Nigeria dodged a bullet from U.S. threats by teaming up on a Christmas Day airstrike against Islamic State militants. President Donald Trump had warned a month back of unilateral action if Abuja didn’t curb attacks on Christians. The joint operation hit a remote spot in the northwest, where explosions rocked Jabo village late Thursday, Dec 26, 2025.
What led the US and Nigeria to strike 12 ISIS militants in Jabo?
Trump broke the news on Truth Social, saying U.S. forces fired at the request of Nigeria’s government. The target: militants preying on Christian communities. A U.S. defence source confirmed a dozen Tomahawk missiles flew from a Navy ship. Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar supported the move on TV, stressing it fought terror, not any faith.
“We’re a multi-religious nation protecting all lives,”
he said.
Local reports spoke of blasts, but casualty counts remain unverified. U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth hinted at more strikes ahead on X. Experts call the hit mostly symbolic—a deterrent flex from the Trump team.
The area swarms with Lakurawa fighters, a jihadist crew tied to ISIS. They run roughshod over villages, steal cattle, and push hardline rules since morphing from vigilantes last year. Abuja branded them terrorists early on.
Security watchers doubt quick fixes from one raid.
“Cruise missiles won’t uproot deep-rooted militancy overnight,”
said a former U.S. Africa hand. Nigeria’s split evenly between Christians down south and Muslims up north, faces nonstop threats from insurgents, kidnappers, and bandits. Trump spotlighted Christian perils last month, slapping Nigeria on a watch list. Officials here deny targeted persecution and vowed teamwork instead.
Post-threat, Nigerian bigwigs jetted to Washington. Deals got inked, surveillance-mapped hideouts. Now the strike seals that pact. But some warn it risks fueling talk of religious clashes in a powder-keg country.
In the northwest region of Nigeria between approximately 2016 to 2018, the Lakurawa militia had been identified as local vigilantes fighting against banditry. At some point, however, they moved beyond local protection and began implementing Islamic extremist ideology, and thus began to become militant extremists like existing terror cells in the region.
Ultimately, upon designation as terrorist organization by the Nigerian government at the end of 2024 after numerous attacks including a mass casualty attack in Kwallajiya village on July 1, 2025, President Donald Trump issued a final warning about the importance of U.S. support of Nigeria protecting Christians from ongoing violence, and giving Nigeria the choice whether or not to activate the U.S. to take action to prevent such violence.
