Pete Hegseth, U.S. Secretary of War, said President Donald Trump has charged American forces to go after ISIS terrorists killing Christians in Nigeria.

Mr Hegseth disclosed this in a press conference at the White House on Wednesday alongside Mr Trump.

“Maybe a year ago, he heard the call of Nigerian Christians who were being targeted and killed by ISIS in Nigeria, and he said, ‘Pete, I want the War Department to focus on ensuring that we do everything we can to protect those Christians,’” Mr Hegseth said.

The U.S. Secretary of War said that, based on Mr Trump’s directive, the U.S. Army has mobilised resources and commenced operations in Nigeria, leading to the elimination of ISIS second-in-command Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki.

“And we got the assets there, and over the last month, and there hasn’t been much coverage of this, we killed ISIS number two in Nigeria, who’s most responsible for killing Christians and trying to target the U.S. homeland,” Mr Hegseth said.

Earlier in May, U.S. forces, in collaboration with the Nigerian Army, carried out airstrikes, killing Mr Al-Minuki, a wanted top ISIS commander, in Nigeria’s North-East region.

Mr Al-Minuki, 44, was a Nigerian born in Mainok, Benisheikh, Borno State, a region that has long been the epicentre of insurgency in the country. U.S. authorities designated Al-Minuki a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) on June 8, 2023.

The elimination of Mr Al-Minuki came five months after American forces bombarded terrorist cells in Sokoto State last December, killing several militants.

The campaign over an alleged Christian genocide in Nigeria triggered Mr Trump’s action, including his designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern last year.