US airstrikes kill 2 Al-Qaeda affiliated militants in Somalia

[Deeq A.]

U.S. forces in Africa have killed two terrorists in a pair of airstrikes in Somalia on Friday, according to an initial assessment of the strikes provided to American Military News.

U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), working in coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, has carried out the strikes targeting Al Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab terrorists near Kunyo Barrow, Somalia.

AFRICOM’s initial assessment concludes the pair of airstrikes killed two Al-Shabaab members and resulted in no additional civilian casualties.

“The support the U.S. provides to our partners in our cooperative efforts to enhance security throughout Africa is unmatched by our competitors and is vital to not only East African security but to protecting the American forces on the continent and abroad,” said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Gregory Hadfield, AFRICOM’s deputy director of intelligence.

The Friday strike is one in a recent string of AFRICOM-led operations against the terror group. On Feb. 19, U.S. airstrikes took out three Al-Shabaab fighters in another airstrike.

Another U.S. strike destroyed an Al-Shabaab compound and wounded three more of the group’s fighters.

On Monday AFRICOM reported its ninth airstrike on Al-Shabaab in total for the month of February and Friday’s latest strike now marks at least ten by U.S. forces against the terror group.

“Al-Shabaab attacks range from unsophisticated to complex operations, and include assassinations, IEDs and vehicle-borne IED attacks, among other brutal tactics,” Hadfield said in a prior AFRICOM statement. “Removing even one of these terrorists from the field supports our partners on the ground and prevents that individual terrorist from planning or executing future attacks on Africans and Americans.”

Hadfield said Somalia remains an important part of the U.S. efforts in the East African region.

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