| 2025 United States strikes in Nigeria | |
|---|---|
| Part of theBoko Haram insurgency, theNigerian bandit conflict, thewar on terror andwar against the Islamic State | |
Video of a missile launching during the strikes | |
| Type | Tomahawk missile strikes |
| Location | Sokoto State, Nigeria |
| Planned by |  United States |
| Commanded by | Donald Trump |
| Target | |
| Date | 25 December 2025 (2025-12-25) |
| Executed by |  United States Navy United States Air Force Nigerian Armed Forces[3] |
| Casualties | "Multiple" reported killed |
On 25 December 2025, the United States conducted strikes againstIslamic State militants in northwestNigeria in coordination with the Nigerian government.[4][5][6]
The Nigerian government has been combating jihadist groups for several years, includingBoko Haram and itsIslamic State-linked splinter groups.[7] Jihadist groups in Nigeria's northeast, the center of the insurgency, killed tens of thousands of Nigerians from 2016 to 2025.[8]
According to Nigeria's military,Lakurawa became more active on the Nigerian side of theborder with Niger following the2023 Niger coup, which impacted the countries' joint border operations.[1] Lakurawa had been formed in 2017 as an anti-bandit force initially being welcomed into villages; however, it became increasingly oppressive. It controls territories in Sokoto and Kebbi states.[1]
In November 2025, theUnited States Africa Command drafted plans to strike at militant compounds in northern Nigeria.[9] Later in November, 25 schoolgirls were abducted from a Catholic school in Kebbi state[10] and 303 schoolchildren and 12 teacherswere kidnapped at another Catholic school inNiger state.[11] US presidentDonald Trump said that Christians in Nigeria were facing an "existential threat"; locals and experts emphasized that Nigerians of all faiths are targets of violence.[12]
Early on 26 December 2025,[13] the US conducted airstrikes which it said were againstIslamic State (IS) militants in northwestNigeria. According to the US, the strikes were approved by and in coordination with the Nigerian government, and killed "multiple" Islamic State militants.[14]AFRICOM said that the strikes focused on targets inSokoto State.[15] The strikes were conducted by aUS Navy warship, likely theArleigh Burke-class destroyerUSS Paul Ignatius,[16][17] in theGulf of Guinea. A US defense official toldThe New York Times the strikes involved over a dozenTomahawk missiles targeting two IS camps.[8]
Nigerian information ministerMohammed Idris Malagi said that the operation took place on 26 December between 00:12 and 01:30WAT, and targeted two prominent IS sites in the Bauni forest inTangaza. Additionally, he said that 16 munitions were fired byMQ-9 Reaper drones at fighters attempting to infiltrate Nigeria from theSahel. Malagi added that debris from munitions mistakenly hit Jabo andOffa, but caused no civilian casualties.[13] According to Isa Salihu Bashir, the chairman of Tangaza, strikes hitLakurawa camps, killing many fighters and forcing others to flee.[7] At least four missile warheads failed to explode and fell short of their targets, landing in Offa, Zugurma, and Jabo.[18] In Jabo,Tambuwal, farmland was destroyed.[19][3][20] In Offa, former state official Tajudeen Alabi told theBBC that "about five structures" were destroyed, with some injuries but no deaths.[21]
The New Humanitarian reported that two missiles hit a Lakurawa camp in Tangaza. The first strike killed around 30 fighters, and the second strike killed survivors who had gathered to assess the damage. An estimated 155 Lakurawa were killed in total, including 19 who succumbed to their wounds. Another 200 were missing, and almost half the group's cattle were killed. Lakurawa commander Dando Sibu was reported to have survived the strikes, leaving the area five minutes before the second missile impacted.[4]
US Defense SecretaryPete Hegseth stated that the strikes were related to stopping thekillings of Christians in Nigeria.[22] Conversely, the Nigerian government stated that the strikes were not intended to protect any specific religions.[23]
The NigerianMinistry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement that said "precision hits" had been made and that the country's authorities remained "engaged in structured security cooperation with international partners, including the United States of America, in addressing the persistent threat of terrorism and violent extremism".[24][25] TheNigerian Armed Forces said the strikes were jointly conducted with approval from the government, and came after "credible intelligence and careful operational planning" to minimizecollateral damage.[26]
According to theFDD, the missile strikes likely targeted camps of theIslamic State's Sahel Province (ISSP) in northwestern Nigeria, the main IS affiliate responsible for operations across theSahel region, as opposed to theIslamic State's West Africa Province (ISWAP), the largest IS affiliate active in Nigeria, which is based in northeastern Nigeria. The FDD added that the attack target was indicative of the inroads that ISSP had made in Nigeria.[27]
A spokesperson for Nigerian presidentBola Tinubu toldAgence France-Presse that the strikes targeted "ISIS, Lakurawa andbandits", saying that IS supplied and trained Lakurawa and bandits through the Sahel. He noted that the strikes hit an area with a historic Lakurawa and bandit presence, and that US intelligence had detected an influx of IS fighters there from the Sahel.[2]
When the strikes were originally proposed in November 2025, Judd Devermont, former US presidentJoe Biden's national security advisor for African affairs, criticized the Trump administration stating that instability in Nigeria "will not be reversed overnight by an influx of U.S. resources".[28]
Nigeria's Minister of DefenceChristopher Musa said that military intervention would only solve 30% of the conflict, with 70% depending on good governance, notably addressing poor state capacity in the north. TheAssociated Press reported that experts saw the strikes as providing "crucial help" for Nigeria's security forces which are "overstretched" and "outgunned".[1]
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