US forces interdicted a Shabaab car bomb intended for Somalia’s capital. This marks the third time the United States has conducted a strike in order to prevent an imminent car bomb attack on the capital in the past month. It is also the first publicized US counterterrorism strike in 2018.
In the early hours of Jan. 2, US forces hit the vehicle approximately 50 km west of Mogadishu. The assault killed two Shabaab fighters and destroyed the vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), or suicide car bomb, which was intended for Somalia’s capital, according to the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) press release.
Shabaab is al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa and Somalia. It has maintained a persistent insurgency and has controlled territory in both southern and central Somalia for well over a decade. Shabaab uses its safe havens in Somalia to attack the fledgeling Somali government and neighboring countries. It has also plotted attacks against the West.
The US military launched a record 35 counterterrorism strikes in Somalia in 2017, outpacing the combined strikes of the entire previous air campaign, which began in 2007. The rise can be partly explained by loosened restrictions. In Mar. 2017, President Trump signed off on greater authorities in Somalia based on heightened threat assessments from the Departments of Defense and State.
Data on US counterterrorism strikes in Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan, and Libya is regularly updated on the US strikes page.
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1 Comment
Ah Yes! Somalia! On the index of corruption this tribal HH ranks 176 out of 176 with a score of 10 out of a possible 100. The Per Capita GDP is $434.21. The good news is the average life expectancy is only 55.69 years. The literacy rate is 37.8%! The Somali military is involved in every crime known to man. Tell me again why we support this sub human HH?