Hiiraan Online
Monday April 2, 2018
In this file photo, a pair of US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles fly over northern Iraq after conducting airstrikes in Syria. (Photo by Reuters)
Mogadishu (HOL) - The U.S. military has confirmed that it has conducted an airstrike on Al-Shabaab targets in central Somalia on Monday, killing five militants.
The U.S. Africa Command (Africom) said the airstrike on Sunday was conducted in cooperation with Somali government near El Burr.
"We assess no civilians were killed in this airstrike," Africom said in a statement released hours after the strike.
It said American forces will continue to use all authorized and appropriate measures to protect U.S. citizens and to disable terrorist threats.
"This includes partnering with AMISOM and Somali National Security Forces in combined counter-terrorism operations and targeting terrorists, their training camps, and their safe havens throughout Somalia and the region," it added.
The latest strikes come at a time of heightened fighting between Somalia's internationally-backed Federal government and Al-Shabaab. AMISOM troops foiled an attack on Easter Sunday killing as many as 30 militants. Elsewhere in the Hiiraan region, over 100 militants were killed at the hands of Somali government troops.
The increase in airstrikes in Somalia has alarmed some human rights activists who are concerned about the collateral damage. Three civilians have been killed and four others sustained injuries when unidentified warplanes reportedly attacked Kamjiroon village which lies 25km west of Kismayo town on Sunday evening.