The U.S. launched airstrikes in Nigeria Thursday on Christmas Day, claiming to hit two ISIS camps in Sokoto state. The Nigerian Foreign Ministry acknowledged cooperation with the United States, including sharing intelligence. Speaking to WABC, President Trump cast the strikes as a Christmas present.

President Donald Trump: “I said, 'Hit them on Christmas Day. It'll be a Christmas present.’ We hit ISIS, who have — terrible. They’re butchers.”

The strikes came after President Trump repeatedly claimed that a genocide against Christians was taking place in Nigeria. But the village that was bombed, Jabo in northwestern Sokoto state, has no recorded history of anti-Christian terrorism, according to locals. Meanwhile, Nigeria’s information minister said, “Portraying Nigeria’s security challenges as a targeted campaign against a single religious group is a gross misrepresentation of reality.” It comes as a suicide bomber detonated an explosive inside a mosque in Nigeria’s Borno state on Christmas Day, killing five worshipers and injuring 35. Jennifer Kavanagh, a director of military analysis at Defense Priorities, said, “The U.S. action taken in Nigeria while Americans celebrated the Christmas holiday is an unnecessary and unjustified use of U.S. military force that violates Mr. Trump’s promises to his supporters to put American interests first and avoid risky and wasteful military campaigns abroad.” This is Moromoke Saka, whose home was damaged in the U.S. airstrikes.

Moromoke Saka: “I could have been killed by now if the wall of the house that broke had collapsed on me. Praise to God Almighty, I survived.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. Africa Command confirmed airstrikes against ISIS targets in Somalia over four days, from the 22nd to Christmas Day. We’ll have more on U.S. airstrikes in the region later in the broadcast.