Monitoring Desk
MOGADISHU: Approximately 30 al-Shabaab fighters were killed in the United States (US) strike in Somalia, US Africa Command said on Saturday in a statement.
On Friday, US forces conducted a collective self-defense strike to support National Army forces of Somalia who were engaged in heavy fighting following an extended, complex, and intense attack by over 100 al-Shabaab fighters,” the statement said.
There was no US military official present on the ground when the airstrike was launched, said a US defense official.
The strike occurred around 260 kilometers northeast of Mogadishu, near Galcad. US Africa Command reported that no civilians were killed or injured due to the remote location.
US supporting Somali government against militants
The US has provided support to the Somali government since US President Joe Biden approved a Pentagon request to redeploy US forces to the area in a bid to counter the al-Shabaab terrorist group in May 2022. The approval to send nearly 500 troops was a reversal of former US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw all US forces from the country in 2020.
“Somalia remains at the center of stability and security in all of East Africa. Forces of US Africa Command will continue equipping, training, and advising partner forces to enable them to defeat the al-Shabaab group,” the US military said in a statement on Saturday.
In recent months, US troops have conducted numerous airstrikes in the region that have resulted in several casualties to al-Shabaab.
