A U.S. military airstrike on an al-Shabab training camp in Somalia killed more than 100 militants, U.S. Africa Command announced Tuesday.
NEW: U.S. airstrike northwest of Mogadishu, Somalia today killed more than 100 al-Shabab militants, AFRICOM says. It’s the 29th U.S. strike in Somalia since the start of 2017. pic.twitter.com/D1MzkFnlFr
— ABC News (@ABC) November 21, 2017
Al-Shabab is an affiliate of the Al-Qaida terrorist network and has been the frequent target of U.S. strikes in recent months.
This morning I wondered where US airstrikes were falling in Somalia this year.
So I took a look — https://t.co/vPSpjVD0nS — with the help of data from @USAfricaCommand, @criticalthreats, and @MicahZenko to find a sharp escalation since August, particularly in the Bay Region: pic.twitter.com/miyHRroVXc— Ben Watson (@natsecwatson) November 15, 2017
Al-Shabab has increasingly stepped up its operations with several high-profile terrorist attacks. The group is responsible for one of the largest suicide truck bombings in history, which killed more than 300 civilians in October.
President Donald Trump designated Somalia an “area of active hostilities” in March 2017, which allows U.S. military commanders greater latitude in deciding which targets to strike.
The group’s renewed pace of operations prompted the Trump administration to dramatically escalate U.S. military troops helping the country’s military. The troop escalation marks an increase of five-fold since President Donald Trump took office and reflects growing U.S. concern over the robust al-Qaida presence in Somalia.
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