US airstrike killed about 150 Al-Shabaab fighters

United States’ Department of Defence disclosed on Monday an airstrike on Al Shabaab targets in Somalia.

In a statement, the department said:

On Saturday, March 5, the U.S. military, in self-defense and in defense of our African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) partners, conducted an airstrike in Somalia against Raso Camp, a training facility of al-Shabaab, which is a terrorist group affiliated with al-Qaeda.  The strike was conducted using manned and unmanned aircraft.  The fighters who were scheduled to depart the camp posed an imminent threat to U.S. and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces in Somalia.

The removal of these fighters degrades al-Shabaab’s ability to meet the group’s objectives in Somalia, including recruiting new members, establishing bases, and planning attacks on U.S. and AMISOM forces.

Media reports on Monday evening indicated that the air strike killed as many as 150 suspected Al-Shabaab fighters involving both manned and unmanned aircraft.

According to CNN:

the strike took place Saturday, 120 miles north of Mogadishu at a training site called “Raso Camp,” according to Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis. The camp had been under observation by U.S. Special Operations forces for several weeks, Davis said. The camp had about 200 fighters on site including Al-Shabaab trainers……

The military did not specify the location of where the U.S. thought an attack might happen, but it is well known that the U.S. maintains a limited military presence at the airport in Mogadishu and that small numbers of U.S. Special Operations forces have traveled to other locations in the country.

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