The US President, Donald Trump, stated on Saturday that he ordered military airstrikes against an individual planning attacks for the Islamic State and other members of the organization in Somalia, as reported by Reuters.
"These killers, whom we found hiding in caves, were threatening the United States and our allies," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. "The strikes destroyed the caves they were living in and eliminated many terrorists without causing harm to any civilians."
Today's strikes were carried out in the Golis mountains, stated Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who added that an initial assessment indicated that several operatives were killed. He assured that there were no civilian casualties.
Reuters could not independently verify these details.
Hegseth mentioned that the strikes degrade the Islamic State's ability to plan and carry out terrorist attacks that threaten the US, its partners, and innocent civilians.
"(This) sends a clear signal that the United States is always ready to locate and eliminate terrorists who threaten the United States and our allies, even as we carry out robust border protection and many other operations under President Trump's leadership," he said in a statement.
The US has periodically conducted airstrikes in Somalia for years, under both Republican and Democratic administrations.
An attack, also targeting Islamic State militants, was carried out by the US in coordination with Somalia last year. It killed three members of the group, as reported by the US military.