Christmas Strikes

Nigeria had a not-so-silent night as the U.S. launched strikes against ISIS.

On Christmas Day, a U.S. Navy warship launched sixteen missiles at two ISIS camps in northwest Nigeria, killing multiple militants. President Trump said the strikes were motivated by ISIS’s killing of Nigerian Christians, echoing his November warning that the U.S. military would come “guns-a-blazing” if the violence continued. 

Hours later, the Nigerian government issued a statement calling the strikes a “joint operation” to promote regional security. Africa’s most populous nation has faced overlapping jihadist insurgencies, banditry, and mass kidnappings for more than a decade—Nigerian officials maintain the militant groups kill as many Muslims as Christians, denying claims of a religious genocide and cautioning against “simplistic labels.”

President Trump and Secretary Hegseth signaled further strikes could follow if the killings persisted.

PRAY WITH US
God of Peace, end the cycles of violence plaguing your world—in particular this fraught stretch in West Africa.  The overlapping terror and suffering are overwhelming and tragic. We ask you to make it stop: free people from fear, protect the vulnerable, and restore peace to the land. Amen.

“And he judges the world with righteousness; he executes judgment on the nations with fairness. The Lord is a refuge for the persecuted, a refuge in times of trouble.” 
Psalm 9:8-9 (CSB) (read full passage)