WASHINGTON: US forces carried out air strikes in Somalia on Saturday (Feb 1) concentrating on a senior Islamic State assault planner and different members of the militant group, killing a lot of them, President Donald Trump stated.
“These killers, who we discovered hiding in caves, threatened the USA and our Allies,” Trump stated in a publish on Reality Social.
“The strikes destroyed the caves they dwell in, and killed many terrorists with out, in any method, harming civilians.”
Saturday’s strikes have been carried out within the Golis Mountains and an preliminary evaluation indicated many militants have been killed, Secretary of Protection Pete Hegseth stated. No civilians have been harmed, he stated.
Reuters couldn’t independently confirm these particulars.
The Somali president’s workplace stated President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was knowledgeable of the air strike, and he wrote on X that he prolonged his deepest gratitude for “the unwavering assist of the USA in our shared combat in opposition to terrorism”.
“Your daring and decisive management, Mr President, in counterterrorism efforts is very valued and welcomed in Somalia.”
The knowledge minister for Puntland state in northern Somalia stated the US assault struck within the Cal Miskaad Mountains, a part of the Golis vary, and focused Islamic State bases.
“The variety of casualties remains to be unknown because it was darkish. However our forces on the frontline might hear the sound of explosions,” the minister, Mohamud Aidid Dirir, informed Reuters.
Hegseth stated the strikes degraded Islamic State’s skill to plot and perform assaults that threaten the USA, its companions and harmless civilians.
“(It) sends a transparent sign that the USA at all times stands prepared to seek out and get rid of terrorists who threaten the USA and our allies, whilst we conduct sturdy border-protection and plenty of different operations beneath President Trump’s management,” he stated in an announcement.
The US has periodically carried out air strikes in Somalia for years, beneath Republican and Democratic administrations.
