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Photo by: U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs 

To support the Federal Government of Somalia’s continued efforts to degrade al-Shabaab, U.S. forces conducted a collective self-defense airstrike targeting al-Shabaab militants in the vicinity of Basra, Somalia, on Dec. 8, 2018.

The U.S. airstrike was conducted against militants after partner forces came under attack. We currently assess this airstrike killed four (4) militants with no civilians involved.

Alongside our Somali and international partners, we are committed to preventing al-Shabaab from taking advantage of safe havens from which they can build capacity and attack the people of Somalia.  In particular, the group uses portions of southern and central Somalia to plot and direct terror attacks, steal humanitarian aid, extort the local populace to fund its operations, and shelter radical terrorists.

The desired end state in East Africa is one in which terrorist organizations cannot destabilize Somalia and its neighboring states, nor threaten the interests of the U.S. and its international allies in the region.

U.S. Africa Command will continue to work with its partners to transfer the responsibility for long-term security in Somalia from the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) to the Federal Government of Somalia and its Member States, and U.S. forces will use all effective and appropriate methods to protect the Somali people, including partnered military counter-terror operations with the Federal Government of Somalia, AMISOM and Somali National Army forces.