Hiiraan Online
Tuesday October 17, 2017
The scene of the explosion in the centre of Mogadishu on Saturday. Photograph: Mohamed Abdiwahab/AFP/Getty Images
Ottawa (HOL) - The US military said that it is "prepared" to support Somalia's government after at least 302 people have been killed in a massive truck bomb in Mogadishu.
"We will be prepared to support the government of Somalia when they ask," a Pentagon spokesperson said. "We are planning what we can provide."
So far, at least three Somali-Americans - Ahmed Abdikarim Eyow (Minnesota), Abukar Dahie (Virginia), and Mohamoud Elmi (Ohio) are confirmed among the dead.
Col. Rob Manning, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters on Monday that there are currently 400 U.S. troops in Somalia providing training and advice to the SNA but added that “we’re not going to speculate” on the possibility of sending more.
Manning says that sending further U.S. troops to Somalia “is something we would have to address based on a request.”
Last month, in a meeting with Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre, Deputy Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan "reinforced the strong U.S. support for defeating the al-Shabab", according to a spokesperson for Shanahan.
The Pentagon announced on March 30, 2017, that it would provide additional support in the form of "precision fires" for both African Union Mission (AMISOM) troops and Somalia government forces.