US carries out 1st airstrikes against ISIS in Somalia
MOGADISHU, Somalia — The U.S. military for the first time has conducted two airstrikes against Islamic State group fighters in Somalia, where the extremists are a growing presence in a country long threatened by the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab.
The U.S. Africa Command said the two drone strikes killed “several terrorists” in northeastern Somalia, the first around midnight local time and the second later Friday morning. The strikes were carried out in co-ordination with Somalia’s government, the statement said.
Local officials confirmed the airstrikes. At least six missiles struck in Buqa, a remote mountainous village roughly 60 kilometres (37 miles) north of Qandala town in the northern state of Puntland, a Somali security official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The strikes sent terrified nomadic villagers and their animals fleeing, said Qandala’s mayor, Jama Mohamed.