US army says 62 al-Shabab fighters killed in Somalia air raids – By Al Jazeera Newsroom (aljazeera.com) / Dec 17 2018
The al-Qaeda-linked fighters were killed in six air strikes carried out over the weekend, according to the US army.
The US military has said it killed 62 al-Shabab fighters in six air raids on Saturday and Sunday in the vicinity of Gandarsh in Somalia’s south-central Banaadir province.
The military’s Africa Command (Africom) said on Monday that four attacks were carried out on Saturday, killing 34 fighters, and two more on Sunday, which killed 28.
“Africa Command and our Somali partners conducted these air strikes to prevent terrorists from using remote areas as a safe haven to plot, direct, inspire and recruit for future attacks,” Africom said in a statement.
The air attacks, among the deadliest this year, did not kill any civilians, the statement said.
“At this time we assess these air strikes did not injure or kill any civilians.”
The United States carries out regular air raids in Somalia in support of a UN-backed government there, which has been fighting against an al-Shabab rebellion for years.
Last month, the US military said it had killed 37 fighters from the al-Qaeda-linked group.
