Puntland: U.S. airstrike in Puntland kills 27 al-Shabaab militants
The U.S. military said on Monday it had killed 27 militants after launching an airstrike in Somalia against Al-Shabaab, an Islamist group allied with al-Qaeda, Garowe Online reports.
The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) which oversees military operations on the continent said in a statement that the strike took place last Saturday, June 2 in an area, about 26 miles southwest of Bosaso, the commercial city of Somalia’s northern Puntland state.
“In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, US Forces conducted an airstrike targeting al-Shabaab approximately 26 miles southwest of Bosaso, Somalia on June 2, killing 27 terrorists,” read the statement in part.
The U.S. military assesses that no civilians were killed in Saturday’s strike, which coincides with a deadly al-Shabaab attack on a major military base belonging to Puntland security forces in Balli-Khadar area located in Galgala hills.