Donald Trump said the US has carried out airstrikes against Islamic State militants in north-west Nigeria on Thursday, claiming the militant group had been targeting Christians in the region.

The president said in a post on Truth Social: “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!

“I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was. The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing.”

No other details of the strikes were immediately available.

Trump has previously said that he would launch a “guns-a-blazing” US military intervention in Nigeria, claiming that the country’s government has been inadequate in its efforts to prevent attacks on Christians by Islamist groups who have kidnapped and killed Christians there repeatedly.

Nigeria is officially a secular country but its population is almost evenly divided between Muslims (53%) and Christians (45%). Violence against Christians has drawn significant international attention, especially among the religious right in America, and it has been often framed as religious persecution.

However, most analysts argue the situation is more complex and has long roots in the region’s history. In some parts of the country clashes between itinerant Muslim herders and predominantly Christian farming communities are rooted in competition over land and water.

Priests and pastors have increasingly been kidnapped for ransom, but some analysts say this may be a trend driven by criminal incentives rather than religious discrimination.