The US has carried out an airstrike in Somalia, killing more than 150 fighters with the al Qaida-linked Islamist group Al Shabaab, following intelligence on preparations for a large-scale militant attack, the Pentagon said today. The weekend strike using both manned and unmanned drone aircraft targeted Al Shabaab’s “Raso” training camp, a facility about 120 miles north of the capital Mogadishu, the Pentagon said.
The US military said it had been monitoring the camp for several weeks before the strike and had gathered intelligence, including about an imminent threat posed by the trainees: “We know they were going to be departing the camp and that they posed an imminent threat to the US and to Amisom (African Union mission in Somalia) forces that are in Somalia,” said Pentagon spokesperson Captain Jeff Davis.
Davis declined to disclose any specific information the US might have about the group’s intended target.
The al Qaida-linked Al Shabaab was pushed out of Mogadishu by African Union peacekeeping forces in 2011 but has remained a potent antagonist in Somalia, launching frequent attacks in its bid to overthrow the western-backed government.
The group, whose name means “The Youth,” seeks to impose its strict version of Sharia law in Somalia, where it frequently unleashes attacks targeting security and government targets, as well as hotels and restaurants in the capital.Al Shabaab was also behind deadly attacks in Kenya and Uganda, which both contribute troops to an African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia. Davis expressed confidence there were no civilian casualties.