MOGADISHU (Reuters) – The U.S. military said on Friday it had killed three militants after launching an air strike in Somalia against al Shabaab, a militant Islamist group allied with al Qaeda.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The military’s Africa Command (Africom) said they carried out the strike on April 5 near the town of Jilib, about 230 miles (370 km) southwest of Mogadishu.
“In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Forces conducted an air strike against Al-Shabaab militants near Jilib … killing three terrorists and destroying one vehicle with a mounted heavy machine gun,” it said in a statement.
Washington has expanded its operations in the Horn of Africa country after President Donald Trump eased combat rules last year.
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Since withdrawing from the capital Mogadishu in 2011, al Shabaab lost control of most of Somalia’s cities and towns. But they retain a strong presence in regions outside the capital.
On Friday, one soldier was killed by a militant who attacked a checkpoint in Mogadishu. A car bomb in the same place injured two other soldiers.
Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack.
Reporting by Abdi Sheikh; Writing by Aaron Maasho; Editing by Richard Balmforth
