US launches strikes against Islamic State in Nigeria

The US has launched strikes against militants linked to the Islamic State group (IS) in north-western Nigeria, where militants have sought to establish a foothold.

Camps run by the group in Sokoto state, which lies on Nigeria's border with Niger, were hit, the US military said, adding that an "initial assessment" suggested "multiple" fatalities.

US President Donald Trump said the Christmas Day strikes had been "deadly" and labelled the group "terrorist scum", saying it had been "targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians".

Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar told the BBC it was a "joint operation" and had "nothing to do with a particular religion".

Tuggar said the strikes had been planned "for quite some time" using intelligence provided by Nigeria. He also did not rule out further strikes.

Referencing the timing of the strikes - which took place late on Thursday - he said they did not have "anything to do with Christmas, it could be any other day - it is to do with attacking terrorists who have been killing Nigerians".

The Nigerian government has for years been fighting an array of jihadist groups, which includes Boko Haram and IS-linked factions, but largely in the north-east, hundreds of miles away from Sokoto state.

A resident in the village of Jabo, Haruna Kallah, told AFP news agency: "We heard a loud explosion which shook the whole town and everyone was scared."

Another local resident, Umar Jabo, told BBC News : "Everyone thought it was a plane. It crashed in fields."

His comment was backed up by social media images that showed people standing in a field filming the burning aftermath of the attack.

Umar Jabo denied any IS fighters had been killed: "Here in Jabo, we live peacefully, and there is no conflict between us and Christians."

The Trump administration has previously accused the Nigerian government of failing to protect Christians from jihadist attacks and has claimed a "genocide" is being perpetrated.

Trump has labelled Nigeria a "country of particular concern", a designation used by the US state department that provides for sanctions against countries "engaged in severe violations of religious freedom".

SOURCE:BBC AFRICA NEWS

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