The government of Somalia’s semiautonomous Puntland region says military strikes by the United States in the Golis Mountains killed “key figures” of the ISIL (ISIS) group.
US President Donald Trump late on Saturday said he ordered “precision military air strikes on a senior ISIL attack planner and other terrorists” in Somalia.
ISIL has a relatively small presence in Somalia compared with al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab, but experts have warned of growing activity.
The strikes were carried out in a northern region of Somalia, where the Puntland Security Forces (PSF) have been carrying out operations against ISIL since December. The armed group is said to have established a presence in the Golis Mountains.
“Recent air strikes have led to the neutralisation of key figures within ISIS, marking a significant advancement as we progress into the second phase of our operation,” the regional government said on Sunday.
Trump posted on the Truth Social platform that the US strikes “destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians”.
“Our Military has targeted this ISIS Attack Planner for years, but Biden and his cronies wouldn’t act quickly enough to get the job done. I did,” Trump posted, attacking his predecessor, Joe Biden.
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