Updates: Nigeria confirms US strikes on ISIL targets in its northwest

US releases missile launch video after northwest Nigeria strike

Published On 26 Dec

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• The United ‍States ‍has carried out an air strike against ISIL (ISIS) fighters in northwest Nigeria, US ⁠President Donald Trump ​says, claiming that the armed group had “‌targeted and viciously” killed “primarily, innocent Christians, at ⁠levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!”
• Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar tells Al Jazeera the US attack was coordinated with the Nigerian government.
• Nigeria’s government has dismissed Trump’s assertions, saying armed groups target both Muslim and Christian communities.
• The armed groups in Africa’s most populous country include at least two affiliated with ISIL – an offshoot of the Boko Haram armed group in the West Africa Province in the northeast (ISWAP), and the lesser-known ISIL affiliate in Sahel Province (ISSP) known locally as Lakurawa.
• Although officials did not say exactly which group was targeted, security analysts have said the target was likely members of Lakurawa, which became more lethal in northern border states like Sokoto and Kebbi in the last year.