US airstrike in Somalia kills dozens of militants
January 19, 2019
The US military said on Saturday that it launched an airstrike against the extremist group al-Shabab in Somalia following an attack on a Somali military base.
A total of 52 al-Shabab fighters were killed in the airstrike and no civilians were harmed, the US Africa Command said in a statement.
The airstrike was launched near the town of Jilib in the Middle Juba region in southern Somalia.
"US Africa Command conducted the airstrike in response to an attack by a large group of al-Shabab militants against Somali National Army Forces," US military officials said in the statement.
Read more: Life in Somalia under peacekeepers and al-Shabab threats
The US statement did not say how many Somali forces were killed or wounded, although Somali General Ali Mohamed Mohamud said that seven Somali soldiers had died.
Al-Shabab claimed to have killed 41 soldiers during attacks on two Somali army bases.
The fighting also follows a deadly attack at a hotel complex in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi on Tuesday that was claimed by al-Shabab.
A suicide bomber and four gunmen stormed the luxury hotel complex, killing 21 people and wounding another 28.
The Islamic extremist group, which is linked to al-Qaida, controls large parts of southern and central Somalia, where they are fighting to overthrow the internationally backed government in Mogadishu.
rs/jm (AP, AFP, dpa)