Al-Shabaab: US says it killed 12 fighters in Somalia airstrike

Washington
CNN
 — 

US Africa Command has stated it killed 12 al-Shabaab fighters in a distant space of Somalia on Friday in assist of that nation’s federal authorities and armed forces.

No civilians had been injured or killed, AFRICOM stated in a press release Sunday, given the distant location of the strike, about 472 kilometers northeast of the Somali capital of Mogadishu.

“Rooting out extremism requires intervention beyond traditional military means,” the command stated.

The US has offered ongoing assist to the Somali authorities since President Joe Biden final yr accepted a Pentagon request to redeploy US troops the world in an try and counter the al-Shabaab terrorist group. The approval to ship fewer than 500 troops was a reversal of former President Donald Trump’s determination to withdraw all US troops from the nation in 2020.

In latest months, US forces have carried out quite a few strikes within the area which have resulted in dozens of al-Shabaab casualties.

Last month, the US carried out a strike in Somalia that killed roughly 30 al-Shabaab fighters, AFRICOM stated. A US strike in October killed two members of the terrorist group and a subsequent November strike killed 17 fighters. And in late December, a US strike killed six al-Shabaab militants close to town of Cadale.