Trump expands U.S. strikes across Somalia, Yemen, Syria and Nigeria

Trump’s second term has turned airpower into a routine instrument of policy, with at least 626 airstrikes in his first year back in office, far more than the 555 strikes launched during Joe Biden’s full four-year term. The pattern stretches across Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Nigeria, Iran, Venezuela and waters in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, creating a sprawling record of raids and strikes that have often been justified as counterterrorism or force protection.

The first major strike of the new term came on Feb. 1, 2025, when U.S. Africa Command hit ISIS operatives in Somalia in coordination with Somalia’s government. Multiple ISIS-Somalia operatives were killed and no civilians were harmed. Within weeks, the administration had eased constraints on how quickly commanders could authorize airstrikes and special operations raids outside conventional battlefields, giving the military wider room to act with less public deliberation.

The largest sustained campaign came in Yemen. From March 15 to May 6, 2025, the U.S. struck Houthi command-and-control hubs, air defenses and weapons-production sites with JASSM cruise missiles, JSOWs and Tomahawk missiles. The operation crossed $1 billion in cost within its first month, underscoring the scale of a campaign that was sold as a response to attacks on U.S. shipping. It ended after Oman brokered a ceasefire effective May 6, under which the Houthis agreed to stop targeting U.S. vessels.

Trump also ordered strikes in Syria and Iraq against ISIS and al-Qaeda-linked targets, including a strike in Iraq’s Anbar Province that killed ISIS leader Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifai. Those later escalations were framed by U.S. officials as counterterrorism and force protection, but they added another layer to a military footprint that was already expanding across multiple theaters.

By late 2025, the campaign had reached Nigeria. Trump said the United States hit Islamic State fighters after threatening unilateral action over militant violence against Christians, and Nigeria publicly cooperated with the United States on a Christmas Day 2025 strike. By early 2026, the list had widened again: Venezuela, Iran, Yemen, Somalia, Nigeria, Syria and Iraq, plus alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.

The most recent escalation came on May 27, 2026, when U.S. strikes in Iran targeted a military site and shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones threatening U.S. forces. Trump had already approved strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in late February 2026. Taken together, the ledger shows a fast-growing use of force with broad legal language, limited transparency and no single strategic objective yet made fully visible.