U.S. conducts airstrike against al-Shabaab in Somalia

Sunday December 1, 2019

U.S. forces on Saturday conducted an airstrike targeting al-Shabaab terrorists in the vicinity of Jilib, Somalia.

The U.S. Africa Command announced the operation in a statement, saying it was still assessing the impact of the attack.

"We are assessing the results of the airstrike, however, we currently assess no civilians were injured or killed as a result of this airstrike," the statement read.

AFRICOM pledged to continue collaborating with Somali forces to disable the threat of terrorism posed by al-Shabaab.

The al-Qaeda affiliated group has waged an extremist war in Somalia for over a decade, killing tens of thousands and displacing millions others.

U.S. forces and African Union troops aim to rid the Horn of African country of the threat of terrorism.

The forces have made gains and forced the militants out of major towns, though they still manage to stage attacks especially using suicide bombers.

While the U.S. initially engaged the militants minimally, President Donald Trump granted broader authority to carry out strikes after coming into power.

In its statement, AFRICOM said: "U.S. forces will use all effective and appropriate methods to assist in the protection of the Somali people, including partnered military counterterrorism operations with the Federal Government of Somalia, AMISOM, and Somali National Army forces."

Home
Email

Hiiraan Online