MOGADISHU, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) — Twenty-seven al-Shabab militants were killed in an airstrike jointly carried out by forces of Somalia and the United States within the vicinity of Bulabarte, a district in central Somalia, authorities confirmed Wednesday.
The airstrike, which was conducted at the request of the Somali government Sunday, targeted terrorists that were attacking the Somali National Army (SNA) troops in the Hiran region, said the U.S. Africa Command (Africom), declaring that the operation is the largest combined Somali and African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) offensive operation in five years.
“The defensive strikes allowed the SNA and ATMIS forces to regain the initiative and continue the operation to disrupt al-Shabab in the Hiraan region of central Somalia,” it said in a statement. The two sides expressed their commitment to fighting al-Shabab to prevent the deaths of innocent civilians.
The strikes have largely targeted al-Shabab figureheads based in southern Somalia where the group still maintains a strong grip in some regions.
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