MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – The United States killed 14 ISIS-Somalia militants, including a senior commander, in an airstrike authorized by President Donald Trump on February 1, AFRICOM said on Tuesday.
The strike, which targeted a series of ISIS cave complexes about 50 miles southeast of Bosaso in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, also resulted in the killing of Ahmed Maelenine, a key ISIS recruiter and financier.
“The command’s current assessment is that approximately 14 ISIS-Somalia operatives were killed and no civilians were harmed. Among those killed was Ahmed Maelenine, a key ISIS recruiter, financier, and external operations leader responsible for the deployment of jihadists into the United States and across Europe,” AFRICOM said in a statement.
“Degrading ISIS and other terrorist organizations’ ability to plot and conduct attacks that threaten the U.S. homeland, our partners, and civilians remains central to U.S. Africa Command’s mission,” AFRICOM added.
