Twelve suspected members of the jihadist group Al Shabab were killed on Friday in a US military airstrike in Somalia, the US military command in Africa (AFRICOM) reported on Sunday.
“At the request of the Somali Federal Government and in support of the Somali National Army’s fight against Al Shabab, the US Africa Command conducted a collective self-defense strike on February 10, 2023,” AFRICOM said in a statement.
The airstrike on Al Shabab fighters took place on Friday, February 10, in a remote area 45 km southwest of the central Somali port city of Hobyo and some 472 km northeast of the capital Mogadishu.
“Given the remote location of the operation, the command believes no civilians were injured or killed,” the statement said.
Likewise, he justified the attack by specifying that “to eradicate extremism it is necessary to intervene beyond traditional military means.”
The area of central Somalia where the attack took place is a hotbed of violence and has seen an increase in anti-terror operations in recent weeks.
“US Africa Command supports the Somali government in dealing with terrorist threats, but we are only part of the US effort in the Somali country,” said General Michael Langley, AFRICOM commander.
The US has been involved in military operations against Al Shabab on Somali soil since at least 2007.
Although former US President Donald Trump ordered the withdrawal of US soldiers from Somalia in 2020, the current administration of Joe Biden again announced in May 2022 the strengthening of the military presence on Somali soil with the deployment of “fewer than 500” troops.
AFRICOM has identified Al Shabab as “the largest and deadliest Al Qaeda-affiliated group in the world” with “the ability to attack Somali, East African and US citizens”.
The last White House military reinforcement for Somalia’s fight against Al Shabab came after Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s victory in May last year, after several delays.
Mohamud announced an “all-out war” three months later to “eliminate” Al Shabab.
Since then, the Somali army has been conducting intensive offensives against terrorists, sometimes with the cooperation of the US military.
In response, the jihadist group has carried out heavy attacks in recent months, such as a two-car bomb attack targeting the Ministry of Education in Mogadishu, which killed at least 120 people on October 29.
Al Shabab often carries out terrorist attacks in Mogadishu and other parts of the country to overthrow the central government – backed by the international community – and forcefully establish a Wahhabi (ultra-conservative) Islamic state.
The jihadist group controls rural areas in central and southern Somalia and also attacks neighboring countries such as Kenya and Ethiopia.
Somalia has been in a state of war and chaos since 1991, when dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown, leaving the country without an effective government and in the hands of Islamist militias and warlords.
Source: El heraldo
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
