Two weeks on from Christmas Day airstrikes by US forces targeting a group known as Lakurawa in north-west Nigeria, questions persist over who was targeted and what impact the operation had. The US claimed it struck ISIS fighters, but details about the strikes are scarce. Donald Trump said "ISIS Terrorist Scum" were hit with "numerous perfect strikes", specifically mentioning innocent Christians as targets.
However, experts disagree on whether Lakurawa is linked to the Islamic State's Sahel branch or al-Qaida. Research suggests that only a handful of fighters have been killed in the airstrikes, and it remains unclear how many more were killed. The US Africa Command stated its "initial assessment" was that multiple terrorists were killed in Isis camps.
Residents near the reported camp have reported seeing fighters fleeing on motorcycles, with missile debris found as far away as 500 miles from the strike site. Some areas, including a hotel in Jabo and an empty farm field, were damaged by debris. The impact of the strikes is not yet known.
Militaries often target groups they believe to be associated with extremist groups due to their ideological alignment rather than purely attacking specific groups. As Lakurawa's actions align more closely with those of bandit groups that have been terrorizing local communities, it remains unclear why the US targeted the group specifically.
The strikes coincide with renewed global attention on Trump's unpredictable foreign policy approach and US military operations in various regions, including Venezuela and Greenland. In contrast, Boko Haram is a more notorious internationally recognised extremist group responsible for both Christian and Muslim victims.
However, experts disagree on whether Lakurawa is linked to the Islamic State's Sahel branch or al-Qaida. Research suggests that only a handful of fighters have been killed in the airstrikes, and it remains unclear how many more were killed. The US Africa Command stated its "initial assessment" was that multiple terrorists were killed in Isis camps.
Residents near the reported camp have reported seeing fighters fleeing on motorcycles, with missile debris found as far away as 500 miles from the strike site. Some areas, including a hotel in Jabo and an empty farm field, were damaged by debris. The impact of the strikes is not yet known.
Militaries often target groups they believe to be associated with extremist groups due to their ideological alignment rather than purely attacking specific groups. As Lakurawa's actions align more closely with those of bandit groups that have been terrorizing local communities, it remains unclear why the US targeted the group specifically.
The strikes coincide with renewed global attention on Trump's unpredictable foreign policy approach and US military operations in various regions, including Venezuela and Greenland. In contrast, Boko Haram is a more notorious internationally recognised extremist group responsible for both Christian and Muslim victims.
... sounds like the US was way off mark to me. If they think Lakurawa's associated with Isis, but it's not even confirmed... that's some sketchy stuff. And Donald Trumps just going around saying innocent christians were targeted? 
what's good is that no one really knows how many people were killed or injured in the strikes. It's all pretty confusing. And can we talk about why the US felt it necessary to attack this group when Boko Haram's been causing way more problems in Nigeria? 
. and then there are people saying it was just a random attack because of their association with bandit groups... but why did they feel the need to strike? 
. like, are we really just going to forget about other issues and go "oh yeah, US airstrikes in Nigeria, no big deal"? 
2 wks ago us forces were airstrikeing lakurawa in north west nigeria & we still dont no who was target or how many people got killed lol experts r sayin its unclear if they even hit isis or al qaida or both idk rn 
. Trump's assertion that Lakurawa targets innocent Christians is pretty "dodgy" given the lack of concrete evidence. Can't help but wonder if the US military got a bit too excited with their "perfect strikes"... after all, "absolute power corrupts absolutely" 
. I mean, the US says they targeted ISIS fighters, but details are super scarce and now experts are questioning whether Lakurawa was even linked to ISIS in the first place? It's like they were just trying to cover their own tracks or something.
. I don't trust this operation one bit. The fact that only a handful of fighters were reportedly killed and now missile debris is being found miles away from the strike site just makes me think there was more to it than meets the eye.
. And can we please talk about how weirdly convenient this comes at a time when Trump's foreign policy is under scrutiny?
. It's not fair to civilians, especially innocent Christians, if they were accidentally targeted too 
. We should be focusing on supporting groups like Boko Haram, which are known for their extremist actions and causing harm to many people 
.
. It feels like the US is just throwing around bombs in a region without really knowing what they're doing. And what's up with Lakurawa not being clearly linked to ISIS? It's all pretty sketchy...
And can we talk about how this timing is so suspicious? It's like Trump wants to make an example out of someone in the middle of all these global conflicts 
. And what's with all these innocent people getting hurt in the crossfire? Donald Trump's just gonna say whatever gets him attention, right? 
. I don't get why they're making such a big deal about Lakurawa when there are way more important threats out there like Boko Haram. Can we please get some real answers on this one? 
It sounds like a bit of a stretch to me. And honestly, how can we trust what the US says about the strikes when there are so many questions and not enough details? 
2,214 terrorist attacks
28% attributed to other groups
Multiple terrorists killed in Isis camps (but not a single number)
. i mean, how many people were actually hurt or killed? 
It just feels like a big ol' mess. I'm also wondering what the real motives were behind these airstrikes... was it really about ISIS, or was it more about making an example out of this group because they're associated with bandit groups that are causing problems in the area? 
. It's just another example of how complex these conflicts are and how hard it is to get a clear picture of what's going on 
.