Terrorists weakened after US missile strikes in Nigeria – Trump

US President Donald Trump has asserted that the missile attack which his government authorized recently in Nigeria served to reduce the attacks on the Christian community and also weakened terrorist groups operating in the country.

Addressing an event in Washington on Friday, Trump said that the strike was successful in reducing the killing of Christians, who he says have been killed in droves.

“Now, as you know, we recently struck Nigeria, and largely ended the slaughter of great Christian populations.”

Trump says that thousands of Christians including women, children, and the elderly have been killed.

“They have a great Christian population. They were being butchered… Thousands and thousands of people were being killed, children, women, old people, just being slaughtered, hacked to death,” he said.

The US President further claimed that the operation eliminated key terrorist leaders and discouraged further attacks.

“They know that if they go further, the attack will be far greater.

“We hit them very hard. We knocked out their leader. We knocked out their second leader and their third leader,” he said.

Drawing a comparison with the United States’ policy toward Iran, Trump said both actions were intended to prevent greater security threats.

“It sounds a little bit like Iran, actually… because we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. Can’t let it happen,” he said.

Trump also said his administration remained committed to protecting Christians around the world through military action against terrorist groups.

“So I’m saving Christians throughout the world… I’m saving them by hitting these terrorists very violently and very hard. We know where they are. We hunt them down, and we take them out,” he said.

He further warned against what he described as threats to religious freedom, saying the United States would continue to confront extremist groups wherever they operate.