22 November 2017•Update: 23 November 2017
By Hassan Istiila
MOGADISHU, Somalia
Some 100 al-Shabaab militants have been killed in an American airstrike in Somalia, according to U.S. and Somali officials.
The Tuesday night strike on an al-Shabaab camp 201 kilometers (125 miles) northwest of the capital Mogadishu was coordinated with the government of Somalia, said the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM).
"U.S. forces will continue to use all authorized and appropriate measures to protect Americans and to disable terrorist threats," said an AFRICOM statement.
Somali leaders welcomed the strike, according to state news agency Sonna. Information Minister Abdirahman Yariisow said that 90-100 al-Shabaab fighters were killed in the strike.
Al-Shabaab military spokesman Sheikh Abdiaziz Abu Musab called the claim the strikes had killed 100 militants “exaggerated” and a “lie.”
Al-Shabaab has publicly boasted of its alliance with al-Qaeda and has been fighting Somalia's internationally recognized government for control of the country since the militant group was ousted from Mogadishu in 2011 by African Union-led forces.
An Oct. 14 truck bombing in Mogadishu that killed over 350 people was blamed on al-Shabaab.
Safvan Allahverdi contributed to this report from Washington
