Trump news briefing: President praises military after launching Christmas Day strikes on IS in Nigeria

Trump also wishes merry Christmas to all, including the dead terrorists', after strikes. Key US politics stories from Thursday 25 December

Donald Trump has launched powerful and deadly" strikes on Christmas Day against Islamic State militants in Nigeria, weeks after the US president warned against any systemic assault on Christians in the country.

Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Thursday that he had previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was".