Hours after US military carried out Christmas Day strikes on Islamic State militants in north-west Nigeria, Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar confirmed that Nigeria shared intelligence and approved the operations
Hours after US President Donald Trump announced that the US military had carried out strikes against Islamic State militants in north-west Nigeria, Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that it had provided the US with intelligence on jihadists ahead of the Christmas Day attacks.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Thursday, Trump said, “Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!
“I have 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 Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing.”
US Africa Command said it conducted the strikes in Sokoto state, which borders Niger to the north, “in coordination with Nigerian authorities.”
AFRICOM’s initial assessment is that “multiple ISIS terrorists were killed in the ISIS camps,” according to a CNN report, citing a news release.
Now, Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar has confirmed to broadcaster ChannelsTV that he was on the phone with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and that Nigeria “provided” the intelligence.
“We spoke twice. We spoke for 19 minutes before the strike and then we spoke again for another five minutes before it went on,” Tuggar said.
He added that they spoke “extensively” and that President Bola Tinubu gave “the go-ahead” to launch the strikes.
Tuggar said the strikes would be an “ongoing process” involving other countries as well, but he did not provide further details.
Trump has previously said he would launch a “guns-a-blazing” US military intervention in Nigeria, claiming that the country’s government has been inadequate in preventing attacks on Christians by Islamist groups.
With inputs from agencies
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