Four Tomahawk missiles fired by the United States at Nigeria on Christmas failed to explode, The Washington Post reported Saturday.
The US strikes were conducted on December 25, 2025. US President Donald Trump declared the attack a "Christmas present" for ISIS, claiming that they were persecuting Christians.
The strike consisted of 16 Tomahawk missiles in total, the Washington Post said. The four that did not explode landed in locations as widespread as an onion field in northwest Nigeria, residential buildings in Offa, around 300 miles to the south, an agricultural field outside Offa, and in a forest in Zugurma, 120 miles to the north.
It remains unclear what damage the remaining missiles inflicted, or what their targets were.
Nigerian and Western analysts suggest that the location renders it unlikely for the strike to have been aimed at high-level members of ISIS, per the Washington Post. Instead, they propose that the target of the missiles may have been the more recently formed Islamist group Lakurawa, whose ties to ISIS are unconfirmed.
US official: Strikes likely not very effective
An anonymous US official told the Washington Post that the operation “was likely not very effective and did not remove any camps or capabilities.”
In contrast, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers stated that the attack was successful and took out many "radical ISIS terrorists using powerful and precise strikes."
The White House and the Pentagon refused to comment to the Washington Post about the unexploded Tomahawks or the targets of the successful strikes.
Rise in Islamic State attacks on Christian Nigerians
Islamic State attacks on Christian Nigerians, including mass kidnappings and attacks on churches, have risen in recent months.
On December 17, an attack on a church in Kogi, Nigeria, resulted in at least 13 worshippers being abducted by gunmen, according to state officials.
On November 21, over 300 schoolchildren were abducted from a Catholic school by terrorists, according to Tinubu's spokesperson.
In early November, Nigeria said it was open to US help in combating the rise of violent Islamic State terrorism.
"We welcome US assistance as long as it recognizes our territorial integrity," Daniel Bwala, an adviser to Tinubu, told Reuters, adding that were the Nigerian and US presidents to meet, "there would be better outcomes in our joint resolve to fight terrorism."
Goldie Katz and Reuters contributed to this report.