Three US strikes in Somalia kill ‘several’ militants

WASHINGTON: US forces have carried out three strikes in the past two days in Somalia against both the al- Qaeda affiliated Shabaab group and Islamic State group jihadists, killing several, the military announced.

The first operation, launched Saturday at 1330 GMT, took place near Gaduud, about 250 miles southwest of the capital Mogadishu, killing one Shabaab militant, according to a US Africa Command (AFRICOM) statement.

“Prior to this strike, US forces observed the al- Shabaab combatant participating in attacks on a US and Somali convoy,” the statement said.

Then in the first hour of Sunday, a strike targeted Shabaab fighters in the Lower Shabelle region, 40 miles west of Mogadishu. A second strike, some nine hours later, targeted IS militants in the semi- autonomous region of Puntland in the country’s north. The AFRICOM statement said ‘several terrorists’ were killed.

“US forces will continue to use all authorised and appropriate measures to protect Americans and to disable terrorist threats,” wherever they may be found, the statement said.

Earlier this month, the United States struck IS targets in Somalia for the first time, eight months after US President Donald Trump authorised the Pentagon to undertake antiterrorist operations – by air or on land – in support of the fragile Somali government. — AFP