United States President Donald Trump has claimed that recent US-authorised missile strikes in Nigeria helped save thousands of Christians from attacks by terrorist groups operating in parts of the country.
Speaking during an event in Washington over the weekend, Trump highlighted his administration’s counterterrorism operations, insisting that American military intervention played a crucial role in curbing violence against Christian communities affected by insurgency.
“As you know, we recently struck Nigeria and largely ended the slaughter of great Christian populations,” Trump said.
“They have a great Christian population. They were being butchered… Thousands and thousands of people were being killed—children, women and elderly people—just being slaughtered, hacked to death.”
According to the US President, the military action served as a strong deterrent against further terrorist attacks.
“They know that if they go further, the attack will be far greater, and they don’t want to get involved anymore,” he stated.
“You know, we hit them very hard. We knocked out their leader. We knocked out their second leader and their third leader.”
Trump compared the operation in Nigeria to the United States’ military posture toward Iran, arguing that both actions were necessary to safeguard global security.
“It sounds a little bit like Iran, actually. It’s all about a different cause because we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. We can’t let it happen,” he said.
The US leader also maintained that his administration remained committed to protecting Christians around the world.
“So, I’m saving Christians throughout the world, even though we are not in those various countries where you read about this,” Trump said.
He further vowed that the United States would continue to pursue terrorist groups wherever they operate.
“We’re hitting these terrorists very violently and very hard with the greatest weapons on earth. We know where they are. We hunt them down, and we take them out,” he added.
Trump also warned against what he described as growing threats to religious freedom, claiming some political forces were determined to undermine religious institutions.
Meanwhile, the United States has stepped up military cooperation with Nigeria in recent months. In December 2025, US forces carried out a series of airstrikes targeting ISIS fighters in Sokoto State.
In May, Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters announced that more than 20 ISIS/ISWAP fighters were killed during joint US-Nigeria air operations in Metele, Borno State.
The collaboration continued in June when the Nigerian military, alongside the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), reportedly eliminated 21 ISWAP fighters in an airstrike in Arege, Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State.
