The United States has killed eight al-Shabab militants in Somalia in an airstrike, The Associated Press reported on Sunday.
The U.S. military in a statement said it struck a rebel compound south of the country’s capital.
The president of Somalia confirmed the airstrike, The AP said.
“The U.S. conducted this operation in coordination with its regional partners as a direct response to al-Shabaab actions, including recent attacks on Somali forces,” the Pentagon said in a statement, as reported by ABC News.
The strike on al Qaeda’s Somalia affiliate is the first to occur under the Trump administration’s new authorities, ABC News said.
Somali president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed confirmed the airstrike, saying that Somali and partner forces destroyed an al-Shabaab training camp near Sakow, in the Middle Juba region.
He said such attacks would disrupt the group’s ability to conduct new attacks within Somalia.
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