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3 Somalis Killed in a US Drone Attack, Al-Shabab Attack AU Troops in Shabelle

April 27, 2019 

3 Somalis killed in a US drone attack, April 27, 2019	Al-Shabaab Somali fighterd, file, April 21, 2019

 

U.S. military says 3 ISIS members killed in northern Somalia

Shabelle, April 27, 2019

The United States military said Saturday its special forces conducted an airstrike against ISIS terrorists in northern Somalia on Friday, killing three militants.

The U.S. Africa Command (Africom), which oversees American troops on the African continent, said the latest strike was conducted in cooperation with Somali government in the Golis Mountains.

“This airstrike eliminated ISIS-Somalia members staged in a remote location in northern Somalia,” Gregg Olson, U.S. Africa Command director of operations said in a statement.

“Removing these extremists impacts ISIS-Somalia’s ability to terrorize innocent Somalis in the region and it creates confusion within the terrorist network,” Olson added.

The Friday’s strike was the second the U.S. army has executed against ISIS-Somalia this month.

The first airstrike occurred on April 14, killing the second in command of ISIS-Somalia, Abdihakim Mohamed Ibrahim.

Pro-IS militants split from al-Shabab in October 2015 and later occupied Qandala, a key location in Bari region under Puntland State Administration north Somalia since 2016.

Africom said no civilians were injured or killed as a result of this airstrike, adding that a detailed post-strike analysis continues and more details may be released as appropriate.

The strikes have largely targeted al-Shabab figureheads and based in southern Somalia where the group still maintains a strong grip in some regions.

Al-Shabaab clashes with Somali and AU troops in Somalia

Shabelle, April 21, 2019

Al-Shabaab fighters have attacked a government-controlled town in Lower Shabelle region of southern Somalia on Saturday night, local residents said.

The attack near Golweyn area has sparked a heavy gunfight between the militants and Somali government forces backed by the African Union soldiers serving under AMISOM.

Speaking to Radio Shabelle, the commissioner of Golweyn, Mohamed Sheikh Osman confirmed that the Somali and AU troops repulsed the overnight Al-Shabaab attack.

Osman did not give further details about the casualty figures inflicted on both sides.

The assault comes amid ongoing military operations against Al-Shabaab in the region by Somali government forces and their allied AMISOM troops.

https://www.radioshabelle.com/al-shabaab-clashes-with-somali-and-au-troops-in-somalia/

Pirates Attack Two Fishing Boats off Somalia

Shabelle, April 25, 2019

On Sunday, two fishing vessels were attacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia. The attempted boardings were both thwarted, but security officials said that they represent a reminder that antipiracy measures are still required when transiting the high-risk area off Somalia.

According to EUNAVFOR, the fishing vessels Adria and Txori Argi were both approached by suspected pirates in the Indian Ocean on Sunday at a position about 280 nm off the coast of somalia.

Both fishing vessels had private maritime security teams on board, and by exercising unspecified antipiracy best practices, the two attempted attacks were defeated.

EUNAVFOR Operation Atalanta confirmed the attacks and said that it is likely that they were facilitated by a hijacked “mothership,” which was reportedly seized by armed men on Friday off the central Somali coast.

EUNAVFOR searched the area with aerial assets and dispatches the warship ESPS Navarra from Mombasa. On Tuesday, the Navarra successfully intercepted and boarded the dhow mothership.

https://www.radioshabelle.com/pirates-attack-two-fishing-boats-off-somalia/

Ilhan Omar said ‘thousands’ of Somalis were killed in ‘Black Hawk Down’ mission

Shabelle, April 27, 2019

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., once said “thousands” of Somalis were killed by U.S. forces in the 1993 “Black Hawk Down” mission.

The freshman congresswoman’s missive in a 2017 tweet was dug up on Monday. She had been rebuffing a Twitter user’s assertion that the Battle of Mogadishu, which killed more than a dozen U.S. soldiers, was the “worst terrorist attack in Somalia history.”

“In his selective memory, he forgets to also mention the thousands of Somalis killed by the American forces that day! #NotTodaySatan,” Omar, a Somali refugee, tweeted back.

More than a dozen U.S. soldiers were killed and 73 others were injured in the 1993 raid in Mogadishu, which was portrayed in the 2001 movie “Black Hawk Down” starring Josh Hartnett. Somali death toll estimates have varied. Journalist Mark Bowden, who wrote the book on which the “Black Hawk Down” movie was based, estimated roughly 500 Somali militia men had been killed, according to Fox News. Other Somali death toll estimates have varied, going up as high as 1,000, and the Rand Corporation estimated approximately 300 civilians were killed.

Omar’s tweet was first identified by journalist John Rossomando of the Investigative Project on Terrorism. Omar was serving as a state representative in Minnesota when she sent the tweet.

U.S. troops headed into Somalia in 1992 as part of a humanitarian mission to aid famished victims as the country was in turmoil from civil war. The Battle of Mogadishu was launched on Oct. 3, 1993 to capture allies of Somali warlord Mohammed Farah Aidid.

The Battle of Mogadishu lasted 15 hours and killed 18 Americans, including Sgt. James Casey Joyce, 24; Cpl. James “Jamie” Smith, 21; and Sgt. 1st Class Randy Shughart, 35. A well-known photograph from the battle depicts a U.S. soldier being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu.

Several days after the mission, then-President Bill Clinton announced U.S. troops would withdraw from Somalia.

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