US carries out ‘self-defense airstrike’ in Africa
The US has claimed it conducted an airstrike against an Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist group in Somalia over the weekend. According to the US Africa Command (AFRICOM), the Somali government had requested combat support on Saturday because its national army was “engaged” by Al-Shabaab terrorists.
The response involved “a collective self-defense airstrike” around 45 kilometers from the southern coastal city of Kismayo. An initial assessment suggested that 13 militants had been killed and no civilians hurt, AFRICOM claimed in a statement.
“The command will continue to assess the results of this operation and will provide additional information as appropriate,” the statement read.
The Pentagon has increased drone strikes in Somalia in recent months, citing requests from the country’s federal government. In July, the US said five al-Shabaab fighters had been killed by an American UAV in a remote part of the country.
An offshoot of Al-Qaeda, Al-Shaabab has been active in Somalia since the mid-2000s. The Horn of Africa country has been plagued by continuous civil wars and an acute humanitarian crisis for more than three decades. At least 20 soldiers were killed last month when a suicide bomber blew up his vest inside an army base in the capital, Mogadishu.
