An airstrike targeting al-Qaeda affiliate al-Shabaab in Somalia killed four fighters on February 19, the U.S. military’s Africa Command said.
“In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. forces conducted an airstrike against al-Shabaab militants on Feb. 19, in the vicinity of Jilib, Somalia, killing three (3) terrorists,” Africom said in a Wednesday, February 21 statement.
The command said no civilians were killed in the strike.
The strike is the latest in an increasing number of U.S. airstrikes against al-Shabaab and Abnaa ul-Calipha, Islamic State’s affiliate in Somalia.
In 2018, Africom carried out strikes on:
- January 18: Against al-Shabaab, killing four fighters approximately 50 kilometers northwest of Kismayo
- January 3: Killing two al-Shabaab fighters and destroying a car bomb near Mogadishu
In 2017:
- December 27: An airstrike against al-Shabaab west of Mogadishu destroyed a car bomb and killed four people.
- December 24: An airstrike targeting al-Shabaab in southern Somalia killed 13 people
- December 15: An airstrike 30 miles northwest of Kismayo killed eight people
- December 12: A U.S. airstrike targeted an al-Shabaab car bomb near Mubarak, 65 kilometers (40 miles) from Mogadishu
- November 27: Africom targeted Abnaa ul-Calipha in northeastern Somalia
- November 21: The command said an airstrike killed more than 100 al-Shabaab militants 125 miles northwest of Mogadishu
- November 15: Africom said a drone strike about 60 miles north Mogadishu killed “several” al-Shabaab militants
- November 11: Africom said it struck al-Shabaab in the Bay region, about 100 miles west of Mogadishu