US Says Airstrike Killed Seven Jihadists in Somalia
The strike came after IS gunmen attacked US-allied troops in a remote area southeast of the port city of Bosaso.
A US airstrike targeting the Islamic State group in Somalia killed seven jihadists, the American military said Wednesday.
The strike came after IS gunmen attacked US-allied troops in a remote area southeast of the port city of Bosaso in the semi-autonomous Puntland region.
A statement from the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said US forces were in the area at the time of the bombardment to “advise and assist” Somali troops.
The AFRICOM statement also said, “we assess no civilians were injured or killed.”
IS has a relatively small footprint in Somalia, where Al Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab jihadists regularly carry out attacks against government and international targets.
Somalia has suffered near-continuous conflict for almost 30 years, while the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu has been fighting Al-Shabaab since 2008.
