The United States has launched “powerful and deadly” strikes against groups it claims are affiliated with ISIL (ISIS) in Nigeria, President Donald Trump said on Thursday.The unprecedented Christmas Day strikes came after weeks of accusations from Trump and top Republicans about an alleged “Christian genocide” they say has been enabled by the Nigerian government. They represent the first known direct US military intervention in the troubled, conflict-racked country.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listNeither side has shared precise information about the identity of the targets struck and the results of the strikes. Security analyst Kabir Adamu from Beacon Security and Intelligence in Abuja told Al Jazeera the likely targets are members of “Lakurawa”, an armed group linked to an offshoot of ISIL, and which has only recently become known. Its profile is still being studied by researchers.One town which appeared to have been hit was Jabo in the northwestern Sokoto State, but no ISIL-linked cells are known to operate there. Furthermore, when Trump and other US right wingers have referred to a “Christian genocide” In Nigeria, they have usually mentioned an entirely different area in central Nigeria.Launching the strikes on Christmas Day and on locations in northwest Nigeria, where the Sokoto Caliphate, responsible for the spread of Islam into Nigeria and revered by Nigerian muslims, is highly symbolic, analyst Femi Owolade of the UK’s …
