US Drone strikes in Somalia for July

Over the course of a few days in the latter half of the month, six U.S. strikes took place, an “unprecedented frequency of attacks,” according to the TBIJ. One of those strikes killed at least two people, while the death toll from the other five strikes remains unreported. Somali and U.S. officials told The Associated Press that a senior commander and other Al-Shabab militants were among those killed in one of the strikes.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the influx of strikes indicates a shift in U.S. policy toward directly aiding African peacekeepers in their fight against the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabab. “Up until now, we’ve focused strikes on high-value targets,” an unnamed U.S. military official told the Times. “These strikes were launched to defend forces on the ground.”

Patrick Barnes, a spokesman for the U.S. military’s Africa Command, said the strikes were conducted “in defense of [African Union Mission to Somalia] forces under imminent threat of attack.”

According to Foreign Policy Magazine , US operates two drone bases in Somalia, one in Kismayo airport , another in the abandoned former Somalia airbase of Balli-Dogle, Lower Shabelle region.

Source : News Week

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