CNN
—
The US carried out a strike in Somalia that killed six al-Shabaab militants on Friday, US Africa Command mentioned in an announcement.
The strike was in “self-defense,” in accordance with the command, or AFRICOM, and it was carried out on the request of the Somali authorities. According to an preliminary evaluation, no civilians had been killed or injured, AFRICOM mentioned.
It was the third such strike in 10 days, and it occurred in the identical space of Somalia close to town of Cadale, about 150 miles northeast of the capital of Mogadishu.
The first was on December 14, and AFRICOM mentioned seven al-Shabaab militants had been killed. The second strike got here three days later and killed eight al-Shabaab militants.
“Al-Shabaab is the largest and most deadly al-Qaeda network in the world and has proven both its will and capability to attack Somali, East African, and American civilians,” AFRICOM mentioned within the assertion.
The US has supplied ongoing assist to the Somali authorities since President Joe Biden authorized in May a Pentagon request to redeploy US troops to the realm in an try and counter the terrorist group. The approval to ship fewer than 500 troops was a reversal of former President Donald Trump’s resolution to withdraw all US troops from the nation in 2020.
