Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said U.S. forces have killed “hundreds” of Islamic State militants in Nigeria, crediting President Donald Trump’s directive to protect Christians in the country from Islamist violence.

During a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Wednesday, Hegseth said Trump charged the military with taking steps to protect Nigerian Christians roughly a year ago after learning of their targeting by the Islamic State terror group.

Building the partnerships necessary to carry out such a mission took time, the secretary said, but the president remained persistent, and the right assets were eventually put in place.

"And over the last month, and there hasn't been much coverage of this, we killed ISIS No. 2 in Nigeria, who is most responsible for killing Christians and trying to target the U.S. homeland, and have since because of the intel we gathered, killed hundreds of ISIS members who were targeting and killing Christians in Nigeria, creating a whole new opportunity there," he said.

The most significant action came on May 16, when U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) announced that U.S. forces had conducted an operation against Islamic State (also known as ISIS or IS) elements in northeastern Nigeria.

AFRICOM’s initial assessment found that Abu-Bilal al-Minuk, whom Hegseth identified as the group’s No. 2 commander and director of global operations, had been killed along with other senior Islamic State leaders. No U.S. service members were harmed.

AFRICOM commander Air Force Gen. Dagvin Anderson said the operation was made possible through U.S.-Nigeria cooperation over recent months.

“Make no mistake, our two nations will relentlessly pursue and neutralize terrorist threats and are committed to protecting our people and interests,” Anderson said.

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