The US Department of Defense later posted an unclassified short video that appeared to show a missile being launched from a military vessel.<\/p>\n
On Friday morning, the Nigerian foreign ministry said in a statement that the country’s authorities “remain engaged in structured security co-operation with international partners, including the United States of America, in addressing the persistent threat of terrorist and violent extremism. <\/p>\n
“This has led to precision hits on terrorist targets in Nigeria by air strikes in the North West,” the statement said.<\/p>\n
Groups monitoring violence say there is no evidence to suggest that Christians are being killed more than Muslims in Nigeria, which is roughly evenly divided between followers of the two religions.<\/p>\n
An adviser to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu told the BBC at the time that any military action against the jihadist groups should be carried out together.<\/p>\n
Daniel Bwala said Nigeria would welcome US help in tackling the Islamist insurgents but noted that it was a “sovereign” country.<\/p>\n
He also said the jihadists were not targeting members of a particular religion and that they had killed people from all faiths, or none.<\/p>\n
President Tinubu has insisted there is religious tolerance in the country and said the security challenges were affecting people “across faiths and regions”.<\/p>\n
Trump earlier announced that he had declared Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” because of the “existential threat” posed to its Christian population. He said “thousands” had been killed, without providing any evidence.<\/p>\n
This is a designation used by the US state department that provides for sanctions against countries “engaged in severe violations of religious freedom”.<\/p>\n
Following this announcement, Tinubu said his government was committed to working with the US and the international community to protect communities of all faiths.<\/p>\n
Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province have wrought havoc in north-eastern Nigeria for more than a decade, killing thousands of people – however most of these have been Muslims, according to Acled, a group which analyses political violence around the world.<\/p>\n
In central Nigeria, there are also frequent clashes between mostly Muslim herders and farming groups, who are often Christian, over access to water and pasture.<\/p>\n
Deadly cycles of tit-for-tat attacks have also seen thousands killed – but atrocities have been committed on both sides.<\/p>\n
Human rights groups say there is no evidence that Christians have been disproportionately targeted.<\/p>\n