US army kills 13 Al-Shabaab militants in Somalia
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Mogadishu: The US army on Saturday said its forces conducted an airstrike in Somalia on Friday, killing 13 Al-Shabaab terrorists.
The US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said in a statement that no civilians were injured or killed in the strike which targetted the militants in the vicinity of Gandarshe in Lower Shebelle region, Xinhua news agency reported.
According to the statement, the extremist group has previously used Gandarshe, about 48 km from Mogadishu, as a staging area for attacks including vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices that threaten the capital and its residents.
On December 15 and 16, 2018, six US airstrikes killed 62 Al-Shabaab militants near Gandarshe, who according to AFRICOM were preparing for an attack on a Somali government military base in the region, and on Wednesday a US airstrike killed 24 militants in neighbouring Hiran region.
The US strikes have largely targetted Al-Shabaab figureheads based in southern and central Somalia where the group still maintains a strong grip in some areas.
