US airstrike has killed at least seven al-Shabaab fighters in central Somalia amidst heightened operations by Somali forces against the group.
In a statement, US Africom said suspected al-Shabaab fighters were killed in Tuesday’s airstrike in support of Somali forces, which took place near Galmudug roughly 317 miles northeast of Mogadishu, the country’s capital.
.U.S. military officials do not believe any civilians were injured or killed by the airstrike, an AFRICOM news release says.
“Somalia remains central to stability and security in all of East Africa. U.S. Africa Command’s forces train, advise, and assist partner forces to help give them the tools they need to defeat al-Shabaab, the largest and most deadly al-Qaeda network in the world,” an AFRICOM said.
The airstrike comes barely two weeks after the United States military killed 12 al-Shabab fighters in the central Somalia.
The “collective self-defense” strike occurred February 10 “at the request of the Federal Government of Somalia.”
The strike occurred in a remote area approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) southwest of the Indian Ocean port town of Hobyo, about 472 kilometers (293 miles) northeast of Mogadishu, according to the statement.
