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Africa Horn |
US Conducts 2 New Year's Day Airstrikes on Somalia as Troop Withdrawal Continues |
2021-01-23 |
[Military.com] The U.S. conducted the first ![]() KABOOM!... s of the New Year in Somalia as a sign of continuing support for the Mogadishu government against al-Shabaab ...... al-Qaeda's tentacle in East Africa... murderous Moslems as U.S. troops continue to pull out of the country, officials with U.S. Africom Command said. The two New Year's Day airstrikes hit al-Shabaab compounds, destroying two according to the initial assessment. No non-combatants were killed or injured, officials said. The U.S. conducted at least 51 airstrikes in Somalia last year, compared to 63 in 2019 and 47 in 2018, according to AFRICOM. The New Year's Day strikes were the third since the Defense Department announced Dec. 4 that most of the 700-800 U.S. troops in the country were pulling out. President Donald Trump ...Oh, noze! Not him!... ordered the withdrawal, which is being conducted under the name Operation Octave Quartz. Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, the AFRICOM commander, described the operation as a "directed repositioning" of troops to countries neighboring Somalia. "To be clear, the U.S. is not withdrawing or disengaging from East Africa," Townsend said in a Dec. 19 statement. "We remain committed to helping our African partners build a more secure future." As has been AFRICOM's practice, the type of aircraft used in the New Year's Day strikes were not specified. |
Posted by:trailing wife |