Nigeria confirmed Friday that it supplied the United States with critical intelligence leading to US military strikes against Islamic State militants in the country’s northwest, following President Donald Trump’s warnings over the killing of Christians.
Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar told Channels TV that he had spoken twice with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio—once for 19 minutes and again for five minutes—before the strikes were carried out. Tuggar said President Bola Tinubu approved the operation.
“The strikes would be an ongoing process involving other countries,” Tuggar added, without providing further details. He emphasized that Nigeria’s fight against terrorism does not consider the religion of victims, whether Muslim or Christian.
President Trump, posting on social media, said he had “previously warned these terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was.”
The US Africa Command confirmed that multiple ISIS-affiliated militants were killed in the attack in Sokoto State, using the Islamic State group’s acronym.
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