US Africa Command on Wednesday confirmed that it launched another airstrike in Somalia on Tuesday, the same day that Somali media reported that US troops took part in a ground raid on a cave and fought against ISIS militants on the ground in the northeastern Puntland region.
AFRICOM said the strike targeted Somalia’s ISIS affiliate and was launched about 40 miles southeast of the Gulf of Aden port city of Bosaso, the same area where the fighting occurred. The command offered no other details about the attack. “Specific details about units and assets will not be released to ensure continued operations security,” AFRICOM said.
According to Garowe Online, AFRICOM said that 10 helicopters took part in the ground raid, but so far, the command hasn’t offered public confirmation of the operation. The Garowe report said the operation lasted several hours and resulted in the capture and killing of several ISIS fighters, and didn’t say if there were casualties among the US troops or the Puntland security forces.
The latest US bombing in Somalia brings the total number of US airstrikes in the country this year to 101, an unprecedented number. The Trump administration has shattered the previous annual record for US airstrikes in Somalia, which President Trump set at 63 back in 2019.
The US backs local Puntland forces against the ISIS affiliate since the Federal Government, which is based in Mogadishu, doesn’t control the area. The Puntland government has come under criticism recently over reports that the UAE is shipping weapons to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) through an airbase in Bosaso, an airbase that’s also used by the US military.
The US has also continued launching airstrikes against al-Shabaab in southern and central Somalia. According to local media reports, a suspected US airstrike on the town of Jamame in southern Somalia’s Jubaland region earlier this month killed 12 civilians, including eight children.
