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Over 100 Shabab Militants Killed in U.S. Airstrike in Somalia Over 100 Shabab Militants Killed in U.S. Airstrike in Somalia
(about 5 hours later)
WASHINGTON — The United States military killed more than 100 people identified by the Pentagon as being affiliated with the Islamic militant group Shabab, continuing a stepped-up pace of strikes against targets in Somalia, officials said Tuesday. WASHINGTON — An American military airstrike on Tuesday killed more than 100 people who were identified by the Pentagon as being affiliated with the Islamic militant group Shabab, continuing a stepped-up pace against targets in Somalia, officials said.
The United States Africa Command said in a statement that the airstrike was carried out 125 miles northwest of Mogadishu, the Somali capital. The strike comes after President Trump relaxed restrictions on American military commanders in Somalia.The United States Africa Command said in a statement that the airstrike was carried out 125 miles northwest of Mogadishu, the Somali capital. The strike comes after President Trump relaxed restrictions on American military commanders in Somalia.
Separately, United States Africa Command also said that it conducted two airstrikes in Libya against Islamic State militants, on Friday and Sunday. Defense officials did not say how many people were killed in those strikes. Separately, the command also said that it conducted airstrikes in Libya, on Friday and Sunday, against Islamic State militants. Defense officials did not indicate how many people were killed in those attacks.
The Trump administration has stepped up its campaign to defeat the Shabab, the group responsible for the 2013 attack on the Westgate mall in Nairobi, Kenya. The siege on the upscale mall, where dozens were killed, heightened American concerns that the Shabab’s desire to inflict casualties extended beyond Somalia. The Trump administration has escalated its campaign to defeat the Shabab, the group responsible for the 2013 attack on the Westgate mall in Nairobi, Kenya. The siege on the upscale mall, where dozens were killed, heightened American concerns that the Shabab’s desire to inflict casualties extended beyond its base in Somalia.
For more than a decade, the United States has been trying to fight the Shabab through economic sanctions, missile strikes and commando raids. In 2014, former President Barack Obama increased efforts, and an American drone strike killed the leader of the Shabab, Ahmed Abdi Godane, one of the most wanted men in Africa at the time. For more than a decade, the United States has been trying to fight the Shabab through economic sanctions, missile strikes and commando raids. In 2014, President Barack Obama increased lethal efforts against the extremist group, including an American drone strike that killed the leader of the Shabab, Ahmed Abdi Godane, one of the most wanted men in Africa at the time.
But the organization has come back, and continues to prove itself to be a potent and resilient killing force. But the organization has come back and continues to prove to be a potent and resilient killing force.
In the past year the Pentagon has doubled the number of troops in Somalia to about 500, many of them Special Operations forces dispatched to train and advise Somali army and counterterrorism troops, and to conduct clandestine kill-or-capture raids of their own. In the past year, the Pentagon has doubled the number of United States troops in Somalia to about 500. Many of them are Special Operations forces who are dispatched to train and advise Somali army and counterterrorism troops, and to conduct clandestine kill-or-capture raids of their own.
Tuesday’s strike was the second time in two years that American warplanes have felled a large number of Shabab militants in one swoop. In March 2016, American aircraft struck a Shabab training camp in Somalia, killing around 150 fighters who were assembled for what United States officials believe was a graduation ceremony and prelude to an imminent attack against American troops and their allies in East Africa.
It was unclear exactly how Tuesday’s strike was able to kill so many people and what weapons systems were used.
Somalia’s state news agency Sonna said that the militants were killed when American planes and Somali commandos attacked the Shabab in an area west of Mogadishu. Reuters quoted a spokesman for the Shabab, Abdiasis Abu Musab, denying the attack, calling the reports of one “propaganda.”
The Pentagon has denied that the stepped-up strikes in Somalia are a direct result of Mr. Trump’s loosening of restrictions that govern how the American military is supposed to conduct itself in East Africa. Last week, Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the director of the military’s Joint Staff, told reporters that the escalation was simply the result of targets making themselves more obvious.
“There’s no particular rhythm to it, except that as they become available and as we’re able to process them and vet them, we strike them,” General McKenzie said during a news briefing. He characterized the increased number of American troops in Somalia as “a natural flow of forces.”
The American military is also bombing the Islamic State in Somalia. Already twice this month — on Nov. 3 and on Nov. 12 — warplanes targeted Islamic State fighters in northern Somalia. It was a sign that the air campaign in East Africa against the Islamic State was expanding after recent battlefield successes against the insurgents in Iraq and Syria.
A militant faction loyal to the Islamic State has increased its ranks in northern Somalia to as many as 200 fighters this year, from just a few dozen in 2016, according to a United Nations report issued this month.