Joanne Stocker

US and Somalia forces come under attack during operation against Al Shabaab

U.S. and Somali forces came under attack during an operation against the al-Qaeda affiliated group al-Shabaab in central Somalia, U.S. Africa Command said. A Somali soldier was killed and two others injured in the attack, which occurred on Wednesday, September 11 in the village of Mubaraak, approximately 37 miles west of the capital Mogadishu, Africom said on Thursday. U.S. forces conducted an airstrike in response to the attack, killing two al-Shabaab fighters and injuring another. No U.S. personnel were killed or injured, the command said. Al-Shabaab is fighting to overthrow the internationally backed government in Mogadishu, but has also carried out attacks in neighboring Kenya, which has deployed troops as part of the African Union Mission in Somalia. Africom works with AMISOM on both advise-and-assist missions as well as air support missions to target al-Shabaab’s forces, but has drawn controversy from strikes that have killed civilians. This is a developing story and will be updated