52 Al-shabaab militants were killed in Somalia after a deadly air strike by US forces less than a week after the terrorist attack in Nairobi.
According to a statement from US Africa Command, the militants had attacked the Somali Armed Forces in Bulogagdud military base, forcing the US to intervene after a heavy gunfire.
“US Africa Command conducted the airstrike in response to an attack by a large group of Al-Shabaab militants against Somali National Army Forces. We currently assess this airstrike killed fifty-two militants,” read the statement.
The Somali is said to have lost eight soldiers in the battle.
“The terrorists attacked Bulogagdud military base using heavy weaponry and explosives. The Somali military and Jubaland forces resisted the enemy before later retreating back from the base,” Mohamed Abdikarin, a Somali military official told AFP.
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The US Africa command has vowed to heighten a campaign against the Al-Shabaab militants, responsible for thousands of deaths in Somalia and the region—including Kenya.
“Alongside our Somali and international partners, we are committed to preventing al-Shabaab from taking advantage of safe havens from which they can build capacity and attack the people of Somalia,” added the statement from US-Africa command.
It is reported that the Al-Shabaab has been using portions of Southern and Central Somalia to plot and direct terror attacks, steal humanitarian aid, extort the local populace to fund its operations, and shelter radical terrorists.
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