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US launches airstrikes on ISIS in Somalia
US launches first airstrikes against ISIS in Somalia
Story highlights
- Africa Command said "several" terrorists were killed in the strikes
- A US official told CNN the strikes were carried out by an unmanned drone
(CNN)The
United States conducted two separate airstrikes targeting ISIS
militants in northeastern Somalia for the first time on Friday, US
Africa Command said in a statement.
While the results of the strikes are still being assessed, Africa Command said "several" terrorists were killed.
A US official told CNN the strikes were carried out by an unmanned drone.
"US
forces will continue to use all authorized and appropriate measures to
protect Americans and to disable terrorist threats," Samantha Reho, a
spokesperson for Africa Command said. That includes partnering with the
African Union Mission in Somalia and Somali National Security Forces,
"targeting terrorists, their training camps and safe havens throughout
Somalia, the region and around the world."
The
strikes mark the first time the US has targeted ISIS in a country in
the Horn of Africa that has been beset by violence and a barely
functioning central government for years.
It
also comes the same day President Donald Trump told reporters the US
military would dramatically ramp up military operations against the
terrorist group following an attack in New York earlier this week by a
man claiming allegiance to ISIS.
There
was nothing to immediately suggest the strike in Somalia had any
relation to the attack in Lower Manhattan that killed eight people and
injured many more.
US special
operations forces teams, along with US air power, have periodically
operated inside Somalia in recent years against the al-Shabaab terrorist
group, which has been responsible for plotting and executing attacks
targeting Westerners throughout eastern Africa and beyond.
While
al-Shabaab has claimed its allegiance to al Qaeda, terrorist groups
affiliating themselves with ISIS have worked to gain a foothold in
places across the continent.
US
Africa Command, which oversees US military operations on the continent,
was granted enhanced authorities by Trump earlier this year that allowed
US forces to target al Shabaab, and other militant groups operating in
Somalia in offensive strikes.
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