U.S. military says 3 ISIS members killed in northern Somalia

[Deeq A.]

The United States military said Saturday its special forces conducted an airstrike against ISIS terrorists in northern Somalia on Friday, killing three militants.

The U.S. Africa Command (Africom), which oversees American troops on the African continent, said the latest strike was conducted in cooperation with Somali government in the Golis Mountains.

“This airstrike eliminated ISIS-Somalia members staged in a remote location in northern Somalia,” Gregg Olson, U.S. Africa Command director of operations said in a statement.

“Removing these extremists impacts ISIS-Somalia’s ability to terrorize innocent Somalis in the region and it creates confusion within the terrorist network,” Olson added.

The Friday’s strike was the second the U.S. army has executed against ISIS-Somalia this month.

The first airstrike occurred on April 14, killing the second in command of ISIS-Somalia, Abdihakim Mohamed Ibrahim.

Pro-IS militants split from al-Shabab in October 2015 and later occupied Qandala, a key location in Bari region under Puntland State Administration north Somalia since 2016.

Africom said no civilians were injured or killed as a result of this airstrike, adding that a detailed post-strike analysis continues and more details may be released as appropriate.

The strikes have largely targeted al-Shabab figureheads and based in southern Somalia where the group still maintains a strong grip in some regions.

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