US airstrike kills 5 al-Shabaab terrorists in Somalia

By Firdevs Bulut Kartal

TORONTO (AA) - An airstrike carried out by US Africa Command (AFRICOM) on Thursday resulted in the death of five al-Shabaab terrorists in a remote area near Galcad region of Somalia.

The AFRICOM said in a statement that the airstrike was in support of Somali National Army forces engaged by the terrorist organization, and was conducted at the request of the federal government of Somalia.

"Working with the Somali National Army, U.S. Africa Command’s initial assessment is that the US airstrike killed 5 al-Shabaab terrorists and that no civilians were injured or killed," the statement said.

"Al-Shabaab is the largest and most kinetically active al-Qaeda network in the world and has proved both its will and capability to attack partner and US forces and threaten US security interests," it added.

Somalia has been plagued by insecurity for years, with the main threats emanating from al-Shabaab and the Daesh/ISIS terror groups.

Since 2007, al-Shabaab has been fighting the Somali government and the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), a multidimensional mission authorized by the African Union and mandated by the United Nations Security Council.​​​​​​​