US forces conducted a counterterrorism strike against Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa, yesterday. The strike killed four Shabaab terrorists outside of a southern Somalia city, according to US Africa Command (AFRICOM).
The strike occurred approximately 50 kilometers northwest of Kismayo, the site of another recent airstrike. On Dec. 15, 2017, US forces conducted targeted Shabaab in the same approximate location, killing eight Shabaab fighters and destroyed one vehicle.
Kismayo, a port city in southern Somalia, was a Shabaab stronghold until 2012, when the Somali National Army recaptured it. AFRICOM noted that it would continue “targeting terrorists, their training camps, and their safe havens throughout Somalia and the region.”
In Mar. 2017, the Trump administration loosened the restrictions on the US military to use force against Shabaab, following Department of State and Defense assessments of the enhanced Shabaab threat.
Today’s strike is the second reported by AFRICOM inside Somalia in 2018. On Jan. 2, the US military hit an explosive-laden vehicle that was intended to be used as a suicide bomb inside the Somali capital of Mogadishu. US aircraft hit the vehicle as it was traveling 50 kilometers west of Mogadishu.
Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
4 Comments
4 down 99999999999999 more to go keep up the good work.
It’s not a good time to be a terrorist!
Great progress!
Strike occured in aera located between Kismayo and Jamaame, where Somalian and Uamisom troops surounded several Al Shabaab strongholds. Another operation occured North of Bal’ad district in coordination with somalian troops.