The U.S. military says it has carried out an airstrike in support of the Federal Government of Somalia on Friday that killed four members of Al-Shabaab.
A statement from the U.S. Africa Command says the strike was carried out Thursday roughly 50 kilometres (31 miles) northwest of the port city of Kismayo.
“U.S. forces will continue to use all authorized and appropriate measures to protect U.S. citizens and to disable terrorist threats. This includes partnering with AMISOM and Somali National Security Forces (SNSF) in combined counterterrorism operations and targeting terrorists, their training camps, and their safe havens throughout Somalia and the region.”
The statement says no civilians were killed.
In Somalia, the U.S. military has executed 34 drone strikes from January to December 2017, which have reportedly killed 228 people.
The U.S. military said it killed more than 100 Islamist militants in Somalia on November 21st, 2017 leading to criticism by human rights groups because of the lack of clarity over who was targeted.
The extremist group was blamed for the October truck bombing in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, that killed 512 people.
