Australia Throws Support Behind US Strikes on ISIS Terrorists in Nigeria, Targeting ‘Vicious Killers’ of Innocent Christians
- The Australian government has backed the US in launching a ‘powerful and deadly’ strike against Islamic State forces in Nigeria.
- The US worked with Nigeria to carry out the strikes, which were approved by the Nigerian government and aimed at militants ‘targeting and viciously killing’ innocent Christians.
- Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the government supported the US-Nigerian cooperation, warning that ISIS’s ‘extremist, violent ideology must be stopped’.
- The US strikes come as Nigeria battles multiple armed groups, including those affiliated with the Islamic State, and amid warnings of a volatile security situation and high risk of terrorism.
Australia has thrown its support behind the United States’ strike on ISIS terrorists in Nigeria, as the West African country grapples with a growing security crisis. The US launched the ‘powerful and deadly’ strike against Islamic State forces in Nigeria, with President Donald Trump saying the militants had been ‘targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians’.
In a Christmas evening post on his social media site, Trump did not provide details or mention the extent of the damage caused by the strikes. However, a Defence Department official said the US worked with Nigeria to carry out the strikes, which were approved by the Nigerian government.
Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the cooperation included exchange of intelligence and strategic coordination in ways ‘consistent with international law, mutual respect for sovereignty and shared commitments to regional and global security’. The ministry also warned that ‘terrorist violence in any form, whether directed at Christians, Muslims or other communities, remains an affront to Nigeria’s values and to international peace and security’.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the government supported the US-Nigerian cooperation on ISIS and the latest attack. ‘ISIS terrorises people around the world. Its extremist, violent ideology must be stopped,’ she said in a statement.
The US strikes come as Nigeria battles multiple armed groups, including at least two affiliated with the Islamic State. Security analysts said the target of the US strikes could be the Lakurawa group, which has increasingly become lethal in the region, often targeting remote communities and security forces.
‘Lakurawa is a group that is actually controlling territories in Nigeria, in Sokoto state and in other states like Kebbi,’ said Malik Samuel, a Nigerian security researcher at Good Governance Africa. ‘In the northwest, there has been the incursion of violent extremist groups that are ideologically driven,’ he said, blaming the incursion on the near absence of the state and security forces in hot spots.
The US security footprint has diminished in Africa, where military partnerships have either been scaled down or cancelled. However, Trump has kept up the pressure as Nigeria faced a series of attacks on schools and churches in violence that experts and residents say targets both Christians and Muslims.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on X: ‘The President was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end.’ Hegseth said US military forces are ‘always ready, so ISIS found out tonight — on Christmas’ and added, ‘More to come…Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation’ before signing off, ‘Merry Christmas!’