US forces conducted an airstrike on Tuesday in Somalia’s Huley vicinity in the Lower Shabelle Region, killing two terrorists, the US Africa Command says.
Tuesday’s airstrike was conducted in coordination with Somali forces, and was the second by the US forces this week, having launched another strike on Monday which killed 8 militants.
“Precision airstrikes like this remove al-Shabaab militants from the battlefield and support our partner’s efforts to increase pressure on the terrorist network,” said U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. William West, U.S. AFRICOM deputy director of operations. “The Federal Government of Somalia continues to eliminate al-Shabaab leadership, disrupt its communication efforts, and obstruct the group’s ability to terrorize the people of Somalia.”
Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. target al-Shabaab terrorists – https://t.co/EvQgn7SaZh pic.twitter.com/xVKIHvInuT
— US AFRICOM (@USAfricaCommand) March 13, 2019
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 forced 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 counter-terror operations with the Federal Government of Somalia, AMISOM and SNA forces.”
