On 20 November 2018, the US military said two air strikes in Somalia killed an estimated 37 fighters from the militant Islamist group Al-Shabaab near Debatscile.
In a statement, Africa Command said the strikes were carried out on Monday and that they did not injure or kill any civilians. The first precision strike, it said, killed 27 militants in what it described as a planned and deliberate action. A second strike killed 10 more fighters.
The military said the operation was conducted in support of the Federal Government of Somalia as it continues to weaken Al-Shabaab. The group is an Al-Qaeda affiliate fighting to overthrow the internationally backed Somali government in Mogadishu, which is backed by an African Union force.
The latest strikes came after the US military said last month that it had killed 60 Shabaab fighters in a single air strike, the largest since a November 2017 raid on one of the group’s training camps that killed around 100 fighters.
Air assaults and missile strikes have increased in recent months against Shabaab as the conflict in Somalia has intensified.
