President Donald Trump announced attacks against terrorists in Nigeria, killing Christians. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo and Adekunle Ajayi/Getty Images)
"In Sokoto, it has carried out attacks against both government forces and civilians, representing just one jihadist group operating in Nigeria," Weiss said in a statement Thursday.
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Additionally, other ISIS branches like IS West Africa Province, as well as organizations tied to other violent extremist groups like al Qaeda, are also active in the region, he said. These include Boko Haram, a Nigerian-based group that the State Department designated a foreign terrorist organization in 2013, as well as offshoots of al Qaeda like Ansaru and The Group for Support of Islam and Muslims, also known as Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin, or JNIM.
"In addition to IS Sahel, there is also IS West Africa Province, which supports and coordinates with IS Sahel in NW Nigeria; the so-called Boko Haram; and the Al-Qaeda groups of Ansaru and the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims, which, like IS Sahel, is a group mainly based in Mali and Burkina Faso, but in recent years have also made inroads into Nigeria that has effectively made the Sahelian and Nigerian conflicts one large conflict," Weiss said.
Meanwhile, the Sahel region, which primarily includes Nigeria, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, is ripe for terrorist activity, and U.S. officials have long cautioned about the threat that these groups pose to the U.S. homeland.
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For example, Marine Corps Gen. Michael Langley, who is the head of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), told reporters in May that extremist groups are gaining ground and "expanding their ambitions," meaning the threat to the U.S. homeland is increasing as these groups gain "capability and capacity" in the Sahel region.
A newspaper vendor pulls a newspaper with an article reporting U.S. President Donald Trump's message to Nigeria over the treatment of Christians, at a newspaper stand in Ojuelegba, Lagos, Nigeria, Nov. 2, 2025. (REUTERS/Sodiq Adelakun)
Also in November, armed attackers stormed St. Mary’s School in Niger State, an event that resulted in the kidnapping of more than 300 students and staff. Although school officials later said roughly 50 students were able to break free, more than 250 students and 21 teachers are still in captivity.
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The Trump administration moved to designate Nigeria a "country of particular concern" in November. Nigeria has pushed back against the U.S. government’s designation.
Fox News’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
Diana Stancy is a politics reporter with Fox News Digital covering the White House.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-targets-isis-nigeria-amid-warnings-sahel-region-becoming-epicenter-terrorism