The US military has conducted co-ordinated air strikes against so-called Islamic State (IS) operatives in Somalia.
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said the strikes by the US Africa Command were directed by President Donald Trump and co-ordinated with Somalia’s government.
An initial assessment by the Pentagon indicated that “multiple” operatives were killed in the attacks. The Pentagon said is assessed that “no civilians” were harmed in the strikes.
Mr Trump, in a post on social media, said a senior IS planner and recruits were targeted in the operation.
Holocaust, the 1978 TV series that helped Germany break the silence about its past
Auschwitz survivors to visit home of former camp commander Rudolf Höss
Trump’s Panama Canal seizure threat revives memories of 1989 US invasion
Trump’s blunderbuss strategies on climate and energy may backfire in ways he has not envisaged
“The strikes destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians. Our military has targeted this ISIS [Islamic State] attack planner for years, but Biden and his cronies wouldn’t act quickly enough to get the job done. I did!” Mr Trump wrote.
[ At least 32 people killed in Somalia beach attackOpens in new window ]
“The message to ISIS and all others who would attack Americans is that “WE WILL FIND YOU, AND WE WILL KILL YOU!”
Mr Trump did not identify the IS planner or say whether that person was killed in the strike. White House officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
US military officials have warned that IS cells have received increasing direction from the group’s leadership that relocated to northern Somalia.
That has included how to kidnap westerners for ransom, instruction in better military tactics, how to hide from drones, and how to build small quadcopters.
A US military air strike in Somalia last May targeted IS militants and killed three, according to the US Africa Command.
The IS affiliate in Somalia emerged in 2015 as a breakaway faction from al-Shabaab, al-Qaeda’s East African link, and is most active in Puntland, particularly in the Galgala Mountains, where it has established hideouts and training camps. It is led by Abdulkadir Mumin.
While its influence is relatively limited compared with Al-Shabaab, IS in Somalia has been involved in attacks in southern and central parts of the country.
The group funds its activities through extortion, smuggling and illicit taxation, particularly in some coastal areas where it has attempted to control local businesses.
Despite facing counterterrorism pressure from Somali security forces, along with US air strikes and al-Shabaab rivalry, it continues to operate in remote and urban areas, seeking to expand its influence through recruitment and propaganda.
The number of IS militants in the country is estimated to be in the hundreds, mostly scattered in the Cal Miskaat mountains in Puntland’s Bari region, according to the International Crisis Group.
The Pentagon’s counterterrorism strategy in Africa has been strained as two key partners, Chad and Niger, managed to oust US forces last year and took over key bases that the US military had used to train and conduct missions against terrorist groups across the Sahel, the vast arid expanse south of the Sahara Desert.
Saturday’s operation followed military air strikes on January 30th in northwest Syria, killing a senior operative in Hurras al-Din, an al-Qaeda affiliate, US Central Command said. – AP
