United States President Donald Trump has claimed that recent US military operations in Nigeria significantly reduced attacks on Christian communities, saying the intervention helped end the mass killings of Christians in parts of the country.
Trump made the remarks over the weekend during an event in Washington, where he highlighted his administration’s counterterrorism efforts across different regions of the world.
According to the US president, American military strikes against terrorist groups operating in Nigeria dealt a major blow to insurgents responsible for attacks on Christian populations.
“As you know, we recently struck Nigeria and largely ended the slaughter of great Christian populations,” Trump said.
Describing the violence as severe, Trump alleged that thousands of Christians, including women, children, and the elderly, had been killed before the military operation.
“They have a great Christian population. They were being butchered… Thousands and thousands of people were being killed, children, women, old people, just being slaughtered, hacked to death,” he said.
Trump further claimed that the strikes had discouraged terrorist groups from carrying out additional attacks.
“They know that if they go further, the attack will be far greater and that they don’t want to really get involved anymore,” he said.
The US president added that the military campaign eliminated key terrorist leaders.
“We hit them very hard. We knocked out their leader. We knocked out their second leader and their third leader,” Trump stated.
Drawing a comparison with US military operations in Iran, Trump said both actions reflected his administration’s commitment to addressing global security threats.
“It’s all about a different cause that we have to do because we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. Can’t let it happen,” he said.
Trump also said protecting Christian communities around the world remains one of his administration’s priorities.
“I’m saving Christians throughout the world, even though we are not in those various countries where you read about this,” he said.
He added that the United States would continue to pursue terrorist groups wherever they operate.
“We know where they are. We hunt them down, and we take them out. They go into a village, and they just kill everybody. It’s like crazy,” Trump said.
The US president also warned against what he described as growing threats to religious freedom, alleging that opponents were seeking to undermine religious institutions.
US-Nigeria Counterterrorism Cooperation
The remarks come amid ongoing security cooperation between Nigeria and the United States in the fight against terrorism.
In December 2025, the United States carried out a series of air strikes targeting ISIS fighters in Sokoto State.
In May 2026, 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 following month, Nigerian forces, working alongside the United States Africa Command (US AFRICOM), conducted another air strike in Arege, Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State, reportedly killing 21 ISWAP fighters.
While Trump credited the operations with curbing attacks on Christian communities, Nigerian authorities have continued to describe the military campaign as part of broader efforts to combat terrorism and insurgency affecting communities across the country’s North-East and North-West regions.
