U.S. forces conducted an airstrike in Somalia on August 2, killing four militants associated with the al-Qaeda affiliate al-Shabaab, U.S. Africa Command said.
“In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. forces conducted an airstrike targeting al-Shabaab militants approximately 74 miles northwest of Mogadishu, Somalia, on August 2, killing four (4) terrorists,” Africom said in a Friday, August 3 release.
“We currently assess no civilians were killed in this airstrike.”
on May 15. It was first launched in 2007 to defend the internationally-backed government against al-Shabaab, and more than 22,000 personnel are deployed on the mission. AFRICOM works with AMISOM on both advise-and-assist missions as well as air support missions to target al-Shabaab’s forces, but has drawn controversy from strikes that have killed civilians.