MOGADISHU, Somalia – United States military says it has carried out drone strike against al Qaeda linked Al Shabaab in Somalia.
The strike was conducted on Jan. 8, 2019 in Yaq-Barawe area in southwest of Somalia’s Bay region, leaving six militants dead, said in a statement by US Africom.
The US military says al-Shabaab encampment served as a staging area for terrorists in the region.
“We carried out an airstrike in support to the Federal Government of Somalia’s continued efforts to degrade al-Shabaab”, the Africom said.
The US says its forces are committed to preventing al-Shabaab from taking advantage of safe havens from which they can build capacity and attack the people of Somalia.
The military says the group uses portions of southern and central Somalia to plot and direct terror attacks, steal humanitarian aid, extort the local populace to fund its operations, and shelter radical terrorists.
U.S. Africa Command vows to continue to work with its partners to transfer the responsibility for long-term security in Somalia from AMISOM to Somali army forces.
