A precision airstrike carried out by U. S. Africa Command killed 60 al-Shabab militants in Somalia, the military reported Tuesday.
Oct. 16 (UPI) — A precision airstrike carried out by U. S. Africa Command killed 60 al-Shabab militants in Somalia, the military reported Tuesday.
The strike Friday near the city of Harardere was done in coordination with the Somali government and was the largest strike in nearly a year.
No civilians were injured.
U. S. forces have conducted more than 25 attacks this year against al-Shabab, a terrorist group linked to al-Qaida. There are around 500 U. S. troops stationed in Somalia.
« Alongside our Somali and international partners, we are committed to preventing al-Shabaab from taking advantage of safe havens from which they can build capacity and attack the people of Somalia, » U. S. Africa Command said in a statement. « The desired end state in East Africa is one in which terrorist organizations cannot destabilize Somalia and its neighboring states, nor threaten the interests of the U. S. and its international allies in the region. »
The strike came just days before the one-year anniversary of a truck bombing in Somali’s capital that killed more than 500 people, al-Shabab’s deadliest terror attack.
U. S. forces retaliated for that attack by targeting a terrorist camp, killing 100 extremists.
