“May God Bless our Military,” he said, adding provocatively, “MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues.”

US Africa Command said in an X post that it conducted a strike “at the request of Nigerian authorities…killing multiple ISIS terrorists.”

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth took to X to praise his department’s readiness to take action in Nigeria, and said he was “grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation.”