U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that the U.S. military launched a "powerful and deadly" strike against the Islamic State (IS) in northwestern Nigeria.

"Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!" Trump said on Truth Social.

"The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes," Trump said, vowing that the United States will not allow radical Islamic terrorism to prosper.

⁠Nigeria's ​Foreign Ministry confirmed ⁠on ‌Friday that ​precision air ‌strikes by ‍the United States have hit "terrorist targets" ‍in the country's northwest, and adding ‍it remains ‍engaged ‍with ‍Washington ⁠in "structured security cooperation."

The U.S. military's Africa Command said the strike was carried out at the request of the Nigerian authorities in northwest Nigeria, and killed multiple ISIS militants. In a statement, it said the strike occurred in "Soboto state," an apparent reference to Sokoto state.

The strike comes after ‍Trump starting in late October began warning that Christianity faces an "existential threat" in Nigeria and threatened to militarily intervene in the West African country over what he says is its failure to stop violence targeting Christian communities.

'More to come'

Nigeria's government has said armed groups target both Muslims and Christians, and U.S. claims that Christians face persecution do not represent a ‍complex security situation and ignore efforts to safeguard religious freedom. But it has agreed to work with the U.S. to bolster its forces against militant groups.

The country's population is split between Muslims living primarily in the north and Christians in the south.

"(The Pentagon) worked with the government of Nigeria to carry out these strikes. These strikes were approved by the government of Nigeria," a Pentagon official said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on X thanked the Nigerian ‍government for its support and cooperation and added: "More to come…"

In a Christmas message posted on X earlier, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu called for peace in his country, "especially between individuals of differing religious beliefs."

He also said, "I stand committed to doing everything within my power to enshrine religious freedom in Nigeria and to protect Christians, Muslims, and all Nigerians from violence."

Trump issued his statement on the strike on Christmas Day while he was at his Palm Beach, Florida, Mar-a-Lago Club, where he has been spending the ‌holiday. He had no public events during the day and was last seen by the reporters traveling with him on Wednesday night.

The U.S. military last week launched separate large-scale strikes against dozens of Islamic State targets in Syria, after Trump vowed to hit back in the wake of a suspected ISIS attack on U.S. personnel in the country.

(With input from Xinhua, Reuters)