The US is clearly stepping up its fight against the Somali Islamists rebels of the Al-Qaeda linked group known as Al-Shabaab when it was announced that an American military airstrike killed more than 100 people who were identified by the Pentagon as being affiliated with the Islamic militant group.
Lieutenant General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the director of the military’s Joint Staff, explained that the sudden escalation of numbers was simply due to targets making themselves more obvious: “There’s no particular rhythm to it, except that as they become available and as we’re able to process them and vet them, we strike them.”
According to him, the increased number of American troops in Somalia as “a natural flow of forces.”
The US Africa Command said in a statement that the airstrike was carried near Mogadishu, the Somali capital. The strike comes after President Trump relaxed restrictions on American military commanders in Somalia.
“In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. forces conducted an airstrike in Somalia against an Al-Shabaab camp on Tuesday, Nov. 21 at approximately 10:30 a.m. local Somalia time, killing more than 100 militants. The operation occurred 125 miles northwest of the capital, Mogadishu.”
Al-Shabaab has proven to be safe haven for terrorists which is why the US is now targeting it.
For well over a decade, the US had tried to fight the Al-Shabab group through economic sanctions, missile strikes and commando raids.
Back in 2014, former President Barack Obama increased lethal efforts against the extremist group, including American drone strikes that killed the leader of the Shabab, Ahmed Abdi Godane, one of the most wanted men in Africa at the time.
However at each turn of events, the organization comes back and continues to prove to be a potent and resilient killing force. The Pentagon has doubled the number of United States troops in Somalia to about 500.
It is unclear which types of aircraft carried out the attacks but assumed that, given the number of casualties, it was a group formation of drones.
Source:
Usa usa usa