US air strikes kill 3 militants in Somalia

NAIROBI: The US military said on Wednesday it had killed three militants in an air strike targeting the Al-shabaab group in Somalia the previous day.

The military’s Africa Command (Africom) said the strike was carried out near Somali locations it identiied as Quy Cad and Debatscile, an area it said it also struck last week.

“We currently assess this air strike did not injure or kill any civilians,” Africom said in a statement.

The United States carries out periodic air strikes in Somalia in support of a Un-backed government there, which has been ighting against an Al-shabaab insurgency for years.

Recently, seven civilians were killed and ive were wounded in Somalia on Monday when a car bomb detonated at a busy market in the capital Mogadishu, police and witnesses said.

The explosion occurred after security forces stopped a suspicious vehicle at the market in the south of the city.

“The suspected driver was stopped by the security forces and was being questioned when the vehicle went off,” said police oficer Mohamed Hassan.

“According to the initial information we obtained, seven people died in the blast and ive others were wounded,” he said.

“The suspect is now in police custody.” Witnesses said the explosion wrecked part of the Kawo Godey market in the city’s Wadajir district.

“The area was densely populated,” said Abdulahi Malim. “It was horrible and most of the buildings in the area had been destroyed.”