MOGADISHU, Somalia — A U.S. military airstrike in Somalia has killed an Al-Shabaab top ranking commander and wounded several, the U.S. Africa Command said Friday, as the fight picks up against Africa’s deadliest Islamic extremist group.
U.S. in a statement confirmed of it airstrikes carried out Thursday near Barawe town in southern Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region neutralized Shebab commander and wounded a number of other fighters.
At least one missile struck a location outside Barawe that the extremists often use to launch attacks on the government-held town, a Somali intelligence official said. He declined to give further details. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Al-Shabaab “has cemented its control of southern and central Somalia” and used the area to “plot and direct terror attacks, steal humanitarian aid and to shelter other radical terrorists,” the U.S. statement noted.
The U.S. military has carried out several air bombardments against fighters with the Al-Qaida-linked Al-Shabaab in the Horn of Africa nation since President Donald Trump approved expanded military operations against the group.
