US Africa Command, which oversees US military operations on the continent, last weekend said an airstrike near Jilib, Middle Juba Region of Somalia, killed more than 52 militants of al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group, al-Shabaab. Al-Shabaab claimed to have killed 41 soldiers during attacks on two Somali army bases. Ethiopia’s state television cited the defense ministry as saying that more than 60 al-Shabaab fighters had been killed and that four vehicles loaded with explosives had been destroyed. Al-Shabaab controls large parts of rural southern and central Somalia and continues to carry out high-profile attacks in the capital, Mogadishu, and elsewhere. President Donald Trump earlier this year approved expanded military operations against the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabaab, including more aggressive airstrikes.

Source: The North Africa Journal January 21, 2019 14:48 UTC