U.S. Africa Command killed an al-Qaida Somalian affiliate fighter Saturday when a joint U.S.-Somalian National Army convoy came under fire, AFRICOM announced in a Sunday statement.
JUST IN: US military conducts drone strike in Somalia on Veteran’s Day ~250 miles SW of Mogadishu killing one fighter. “Prior to this strike, U.S. forces observed the al-Shabaab combatant participating in attacks on a U.S. and Somali convoy” statement says
— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) November 12, 2017
The Veterans day strike is the second such strike on the terror group in recent days with a similar action taken Thursday. Al-Qaida’s Somalian affiliate is known as Al-Shaabab. Al-Shaabab has stepped up its operations in recent years with several high profile terrorist attacks. The group is responsible for one of the largest suicide truck bombings in history which killed more than 300 civilians in October.
The group’s renewed pace of operations prompted the Trump administration to dramatically escalate U.S. military troops helping the country’s military. The troop escalation marks an increase of four-fold since President Donald Trump took office and reflects growing U.S. concern over an increasingly robust al-Shaabab. Trump has similarly escalated aerial operations against al-Shabab since taking office by designating the country an “area of active hostilities,” which allows U.S. military commanders greater latitude in deciding what targets to strike.
U.S. troops in Somalia are now both engaged in operational support missions and train, advise, and assist for the Somalian National Army. They also provide planning and assistance in intelligence operations. Approximately half of the U.S. forces are special operators accompanying the Somalian Army outside the capital on missions to provide advice and some assistance.
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