US, Somali Forces Attack al-Shabaab Site

Somali Officials Claim 'Command Post' Destroyed

Somali military forces backed by US air support attacked an al-Shabaab site in southern Somalia today, which was described either as a training site for the Islamist faction, or a “command post” being used as a key base of operations.

Pentagon officials said the operation was in direct response to recent operations by al-Shabaab across southwestern Somalia, including attacks on Soamli military forces. They also claimed a US airstrike killed at least eight al-Shabaab fighters.

Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi confirmed that he had personally authorized the attack on the Shabaab site, which he also referred to as a training base, saying it was a successful operation which had destroyed the facility outright.

Despite several years of operations against them by US, Somali, and African Union forces, the al-Shabaab movement remains active across Somalia, and is even able to carry out occasional attacks across the border, into places like Kenya, and most recently the autonomous Puntland region.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.