US drone strike kills four Al-Shabaab fighters in Somalia

The U.S. military said Wednesday it conducted a drone strike in Somalia that killed four members of the Al-Shabaab extremist group.

A statement from the U.S. Africa Command said the airstrike occurred Wednesday in Awdheegle town in Lower Shabelle region in southern Somalia after U.S and partner’s forces in the area came under attack.

The statement said no civilians were killed.

The strike, AFRICOM said was to stop Al-Shabaab taking advantage of safe havens from which they can build capacity and attack the people of Somalia.

“In particular, the group uses portions of southern and central Somalia to plot and direct terror attacks, steal humanitarian aid, extort the local populace to fund its operations, and shelter radical terrorists,” AFRICOM said.

The strike happened barely three days after a similar one killed nine militants in Lebede located in Southwestern Somalia on December 2, 2018, adding to more than 50 Al-Shabaab militants felled by the drone strikes in less than a month.

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