Monday, February 25, 2019

US Airstrike in Somalia Kills 35 Al-Shabab Fighters
Associated Press

ISIS recruitment drive in Somalia could prove 'massive threat to the us presence' in the region
ISIS is quickly recruiting to supplant existing al-Shabab fighters in Somalia to declare a more entrenched presence in the horn of Africa.

JOHANNESBURG – The United States military says it has killed 35 fighters from the al-Shabab extremist group with an airstrike in central Somalia, not far from the Ethiopian border.

In a statement Monday, the U.S. military command for the African continent said the airstrike took place on Sunday about 23 miles east of Beledweyne in the Hiran region and targeted the fighters as they were traveling in a rural area.

The U.S. has dramatically increased airstrikes against the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab, the deadliest extremist group in Africa, since President Donald Trump took office.

Authorities and experts acknowledge that it will take more than airstrikes to defeat the extremist group, which continues to hold large parts of rural central and southern Somalia and carry out deadly attacks in the capital, Mogadishu.

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