US says it killed two al-Shabab fighters in Somalia air raid
US Africa Command says the strike in the southern Lower Juba region was carried out in response to the attack on ‘partner forces’.
The United States military has said it killed two fighters from the al-Shabab armed group during an air raid in a remote part of southern Somalia over the weekend.
The strike took place on Sunday near Libikus, in the Lower Juba region, US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said in a statement late on Monday.
The command said the raid was carried out in response to an attack on “partner forces” in the region. It provided no further details about the reported attack.
“The command’s initial assessment is that two al al-Shabab terrorists were killed in action,” AFRICOM said. “No civilians were injured or killed given the remote nature of where this engagement occurred.”
The US has routinely carried out air raids in Somalia to try to defeat al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda affiliate which has been fighting for years to topple the country’s Western-backed government and establish its own rule based on its strict interpretation of Islamic law.
But rights activists and critics have accused Washington of shrouding its Somalia operations in secrecy, potentially undermining accountability for incidents involving civilian deaths.
In its statement, AFRICOM said its forces and Somalia’s government “take great measures to prevent civilian casualties”.
“These efforts contrast with the indiscriminate attacks that al-Shabab regularly conducts against the civilian population,” AFRICOM said. “Violent extremist organisations like al-Shabab present long-term threats to Somali, regional and US interests.”
