US Africa Command has announced that in collaboration with the Somali National Army an airstrike targeting al-Shabaab militants near Lebede, Southwest Somalia killed 9 al Shabaab militants.
According to an SNA representative among those killed was a senior al Shabaab commander in Bay region whose name is yet to be released. The airstrike was the second in the past week by the US seeing as an earlier one had killed three militants.
Al Shabaab has been suffering major losses, especially from US airstrikes this year that have increased and steadily degrading the terrorists and destroying their hideouts and networks.
Al Shabaab has been driven out of many urban areas since 2011 following joint military offensives carried out by African Union forces and Somali National Army forces. The group still controls territory in rural areas and carries out gun attacks and bombings on military and civilian targets in the war-ravaged nation.
