- The U.S. military conducted airstrikes against a terrorist training camp in Somalia
- The air attacks killed over 150 Al-Shabaab fighters
- The Pentagon said the Al-Qaeda-linked group was in the final stages of getting ready to launch a large-scale attack in Somalia
The United States has conducted airstrikes against a terrorist training camp of an Al-Qaeda linked Islamic group Al-Shabaab in Somalia, killing more than 150 fighters.
The Pentagon said the airstrikes were meant to stop the imminent threat against U.S. troops and African peacekeeping forces in Somalia.
The air attacks were earlier classified as a drone strike, but the Pentagon later clarified that the strikes involved both manned aircraft and unmanned drones.
In a statement released on March 7, 2016, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook confirmed that the U.S. military, in self-defense and in defense of its African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) partners, conducted airstrikes against Al-Shabaab’s Raso training camp.
“The removal of these fighters degrades al-Shabaab’s ability to meet the group’s objectives in Somalia, including recruiting new members, establishing bases and planning attacks on U.S. and AMISOM forces,” Cook said.
The U.S. military said the camp had been under surveillance for several weeks prior to the airstrikes and had gathered information regarding the imminent threat posed by the fighters undergoing training in Raso.
Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said the intelligence indicated that the group was training for some time and was in the final stage of preparing to launch a large-scale attack.
“The fighters were there training and were training for a large-scale attack. We know they were going to be departing the camp and they posed an imminent threat to US and African Union forces,” Capt. Davis said.
“It was an air operation. Initial assessments are that more than 150 terrorist fighters were eliminated,” he added.
Al-Shabaab, which means “The Youth,” has been fighting the Western-backed government of Somalia since 2006. The African Union peacekeeping forces were able to push the group out of Mogadishu in 2011, but it remained a potent antagonist in Somalia.
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