Nigeria confirms US strikes on ISIL targets in its northwest

The Nigerian government has confirmed the attacks but dismisses Trump’s assertions, saying armed groups target both Muslim and Christian communities in the country, and US claims that Christians face persecution ‌do not represent a complex security situation and ignore efforts by Nigerian authorities to safeguard religious freedom reports AlJazeera.

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!”

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 and prominent in the northwest.

Although officials did not say exactly which group was targeted, security analysts said the target, if indeed ISIL, was likely members of Lakurawa, which became more lethal in border states like Sokoto and Kebbi in the last year, often targeting remote communities and security forces.