US military airstrike kills six militants in Somalia
CGTN
["africa"]
The United States military said it killed six terrorists in an airstrike targeting an ISIS-Somalia encampment in the Golis Mountains in Somalia on Tuesday.
The US military says this is the seventh airstrike in the last month against ISIS-Somalia and Al-Shabaab in the Golis Mountains. The airstrikes in the area have so far killed a total of 34 terrorists.
AFRICOM notes that the Golis Mountains are a known area for Al-Shabaab camps and ongoing fighting between Al-Shabaab and ISIS-Somalia.
AFRICOM says the airstrikes support Somali security forces efforts to protect the Somali people from terrorism and support long-term security in the region.
AFRICOM said no civilians were killed or injured in the latest airstrike but it would release more details as appropriate as a post-strike analysis continues.
“We continue to put pressure on terrorist networks in Somalia to enable governance to take hold. The Federal Government of Somalia and the United States will continue to take advantage of opportunities presented by the networks in order to disrupt their operations and degrade their capabilities,” U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. William P. West, deputy director of operations, U.S. Africa Command said in a statement on AFRICOM's website.
Somalia has been plagued by terrorism for more than a decade, perpetrated by the Al-Shabaab militant group. The war waged by the terrorists has killed tens of thousands and forced millions to flee their homes.