Somali and U.S. security forces said on Saturday two al-Shabab militants were wounded and their compound destroyed in two airstrikes on Thursday in the southern region.
The U.S. Africa Command (Africom), which oversees American troops on the African continent, said the two airstrikes targeted the militants and their compound in the vicinity of Jilib.
Initial assessments conclude one al-Shabab facility was severely degraded, and two al-Shabab militants were wounded as a result of these two airstrikes, according to an Africom statement issued Saturday.
It said no civilians were injured or killed as a result of these latest airstrikes which have largely targeted al-Shabab figureheads based in southern and central Somalia where the group still maintains a strong grip in some regions.
Bradford Gering, Africom’s deputy director of operations, said airstrikes are one way to help prevent al-Shabab from building a safe haven to plan deadly attacks against the U.S. homeland and east African partners.
Since 2017, the U.S. military has stepped up air raids against al-Shabab which is targeting the African Union and Somali security bases as well as government installations across the country. Enditem
