U.S. military says it has killed 13 Al Shabaab fighters in drone strike carried out near Somali capital Mogadishu.
The strike was conducted at Gandarshe area, some 30km away from the capital of Mogadishu, killing 13 militants according to US Africom command.
Al-Shabaab has previously used Gandarshe, 30 miles southwest of Mogadishu, as a staging area for attacks including vehicle borne improvised explosive devices that threaten the capital and its residents.
On December 15 and 16, six U.S. airstrikes killed 62 al-Shabaab militants near Gandarshe, who were preparing for an attack on a Somali government military base in the region, and recently, a U.S. airstrike killed 24 militants in neighboring Hiran Region on January 30.
“Somali security forces continue to keep pressure on al-Shabaab, creating conditions for further political and economic development,” said Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Gregg Olson, U.S. Africa Command director of operations. “Somalia continues to demonstrate its commitment toward enhancing regional stability and security while degrading a transnational threat.”
U.S. Africa Command currently assesses this airstrike killed thirteen (13) militants.
