Hegseth says US has eliminated hundreds of ISIS militants in Nigeria, praises Trump

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said U.S. forces have killed “hundreds” of Islamic State militants in Nigeria, crediting President Donald Trump’s directive to protect Christians in the country from Islamist violence.

During a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Wednesday, Hegseth said Trump charged the military with taking steps to protect Nigerian Christians roughly a year ago after learning of their targeting by the Islamic State terror group.

Building the partnerships necessary to carry out such a mission took time, the secretary said, but the president remained persistent, and the right assets were eventually put in place.

"And over the last month, and there hasn't been much coverage of this, we killed ISIS No. 2 in Nigeria, who is most responsible for killing Christians and trying to target the U.S. homeland, and have since because of the intel we gathered, killed hundreds of ISIS members who were targeting and killing Christians in Nigeria, creating a whole new opportunity there," he said.

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