- 284 views
The United States military on Wednesday conducted massive airstrikes targeting Al Shabaab militants in Somalia, the third attack in a span of one month. US army Africa Command said that they launched the attack at around 1:30 am local time, 480 kilometers southwest of Somalia Capital, Mogadishu.
"Working from actionable intelligence, the Department of Defense conducted a successful collective self-defense strike operation against an Al-Shabaab troop concentration," Africom said in a statement.
The raid marked the third strike by US on the Somalia –based terror group since President Donald Trump in March sanctioned the Pentagon to undertake counter-terrorism actions, whether airstrikes or ground raids to support the Somali regime tame the activities of the militants.
Two similar attacks on the extremists training centers were carried out on July 2 and June 11 killing several of them.
Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said that it was Pentagon's "parameters of authority to engage in collective self-defense of our Somali partners,"
US Special Forces have been deployed in Somalia for years and there are currently, about 50 US troops in the Eastern African Country.
The terror group, which is linked to Al-Qaeda group, has been fighting since 2007 with an aim to oust the internationally backed government in Somalia.