Pentagon Claims First Strike Against ISIS in Somalia, ‘Several’ Killed

Slain Not Identified, Labeled 'Terrorists'

The Pentagon has reported multiple strikes against “ISIS militants” inside Somalia on Friday, beginning at midnight and continuing to 11 am. These are the first US strikes within Somalia to be explicitly aimed at ISIS.

Details on the incident are still scant. US African Command (AFRICOM) says the strikes were carried out with coordination from the Somali government. Six missiles fired from drones hit the remote Puntland village of Buqa.

Locals from a nearby town said the attack sent villagers and livestock fleeing into the countryside. The US reported that they killed “several terrorists” in the attacks, offering no indication of who they were or how they were identified as such.

US strikes have been common in Somalia this year, but previously have all been targeted at al-Shabaab. A small al-Shabaab splinter group is believed to be the “ISIS in Somalia” faction, and is believed to be in Puntland, though the US offered no indication why this particular village was the target.

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.