US drone strike kills 4 Al Shabaab in Somalia

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MOGADISHU — military says it has carried out drone strike targeting Al-Shabaab group in Somalia, killing at least 4 militants .

The strike was conducted on Sunday in Arare area, south of Somalia’s Lower Juba region, said in a statement by U.S. Africa Command.

The Command said four Al Qaeda linked Al Shabaab group had been killed in the latest strike in Somalia.

Sunday’s airstrike was carried out after Somali troops along with US especial forces came under ambush attack by Al Shabaab.

The statement says no U.S. service members were on the ground during the Somali-led operation and that according to its assessment no civilians were injured or killed in the airstrike.

The U.S. military has carried out more than 20 airstrikes, including drone strikes, this year against the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab, the deadliest Islamic extremist group in sub-Saharan Africa.

Last week, U.S. military says it killed nine al Qaeda linked al-Shabab militants in drone airstrike in southern Somalia.

The U.S. Africa Command said one militant was also injured in the strike. The raid was carried out in coordination with the Somali government

The Al-Qaeda linked Shabaab was pushed out of the Somali capital in 2011 — and subsequently other towns and cities — by soldiers from the African Union Mission in Somalia.

The group is fighting to overthrow the internationally backed government of Somalia, but has also carried out attacks in neighboring Kenya.