United States President Donald Trump revealed that Thursday's strike on Islamic State terrorists in Nigeria was originally slated to be carried out on Wednesday but was delayed until Christmas Day, Reuters reported on Friday.
“They were going to do it earlier,” Trump told Politico in an interview. “And I said, ‘Nope, let’s give a Christmas present.’ … They didn’t think that was coming, but we hit them hard. Every camp got decimated.”
A US defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the strike was carried out by about a dozen Tomahawk missiles launched from a US Navy warship in the Gulf of Guinea.
Shortly following the strike, Trump made a social media post announcing that the operation had been successful, in which he wished "MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists."
Pete Hesgeth, the US Secretary of War, additionally praised the strike in a post on Twitter/X. "The Department of War
is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight - on Christmas," Hegseth said, adding that there is "More to come…"
Joint US-Nigeria anti-Islamic State efforts
Hegseth also thanked the Nigerian government for its "support and cooperation" in executing the strike.
The Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement on Thursday confirming that the operation was a joint effort made possible by "structured security cooperation with international partners, including the United States of America."
The collaboration included "the exchange of intelligence, strategic coordination, and other forms of support consistent with international law," all of which led to the "precision hits on terrorist targets," the statement continued.
While Thursday's strikes targeted Islamic State terrorists, the Nigerian government emphasized that the main aims of its counterterror operations are "protecting civilian lives, safeguarding national unity, and upholding the rights and dignity of all citizens, irrespective of faith or ethnicity."
"Terrorist violence in any form, whether directed at Christians, Muslims, or other communities, remains
an affront to Nigeria's values and to international peace and security," the Nigerian Foreign Ministry added.