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Defence & Security News - Somalia & USA
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| US troops and Somali forces killed al-Shebab insurgents in Somalia in a helicopter raid | |||
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US troops and Somali forces killed al-Shebab insurgents in Somalia in a helicopter raid against the terrorist organization, a Pentagon spokesman said on Wednesday March 9.
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 The raid overnight Tuesday to Wednesday came just a few days after US planes and drones had killed an estimated 130 Shebab fighters according to the Pentagon (Picture Aljazeera) |
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US aircraft were used in the operation against the Al-Qaeda-affiliated group, which the spokesman described as an "advise, assist and accompany mission" with the Somali armed forces.
"We did go on the mission but we did not go all the way to the objective," Navy Captain Jeff Davis said. The raid overnight Tuesday to Wednesday came just a few days after US planes and drones had killed an estimated 130 Shebab fighters according to the Pentagon. Special forces operatives in two helicopters targeted the Shebab-controlled town of Awdhegele, about 50 kilometers) west of Mogadishu, Somali government officials and a Shebab spokesman said. "We have reports Shebab militants suffered casualties," local district commissioner Mohamed Aweys told reporters. Davis said there are a small number of US troops in Somalia supporting an African Union mission and the Somali national army "specifically in their fight against al-Shebab." The number of militants killed by US strikes in Somalia has increased in recent years from 4 in 2011 to 41 in 2015. Observers say the group aims to disrupt Somalia's first presidential election in 40 years, planned for later this year. (Source AFP) |
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