US drone strike targeting Al-Shabaab in Somalia killed 200 extremists

The U.S. Africa command used to train Somali elite forces from the Danab brigade to help the SNA fight against Al-Shabaab, Al-Qaeda’s East Africa branch which poses a potent threat to the security.

News Keydmedia Online
13 March 2022

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The U.S. military carried out a drone strike against Al Shabab militants in central Somalia in the past 48 hours, the second such air raid against the Qaeda affiliate in East Africa in 2022.

The MQ-9 Reaper strike razed a militant training camp to the ground in Hareeri-gubadle, about 20 km east of Wabho in the Galgadud region, leaving 200 fighters dead on the spot, according to the state media.

The last attack happened in Duduble, about 40 miles northwest of Mogadishu after Al-Shabab ambushed allied Somali forces. Several militants were killed in the operation, per the sources.

The deadly airstrike come just days after top US military officials called on U.S. president Joe Biden to redeploy American forces to Somalia to resume the counter-terrorism operations in the country.

The U.S. Africa command used to train Somali elite forces from the Danab brigade to help the SNA fight against Al-Shabaab, Al-Qaeda’s East Africa branch which poses a potent threat to the security.

Trump ordered to pull out the U.S. troops from Somalia weeks before his time at White House expired early last year. After assuming office, Biden placed new limits on drone strikes outside active war zones.

Most of the 700 American troops based in Somalia to advise and assist Somali military and counterterrorism forces were withdrawn in 2021 and repositioned to Kenya and Djibouti bases.

Somalia has been fighting Al-Shabaab since 2008 with the support of 22,000 African Union soldiers from Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti who are currently preparing to leave the country soon.

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