US military says airstrike in Somalia kills 26 al-Shabab

[Deeq A.]

The United States military says it has killed 26 fighters with the al-Shabab extremist group with an airstrike in central Somalia, after a pair of strikes earlier this week killed 55.

The U.S. Africa Command says the attack occurred Thursday in the Hiran region, where the others took place.

The airstrike was announced shortly after Somali authorities said a deadly overnight siege by al-Shabab had ended in the capital, Mogadishu, with all attackers killed.

The U.S. has dramatically increased airstrikes against the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab, Africa’s deadliest extremist group since President Donald Trump took office.

The U.S. has carried out 24 strikes this year.

Authorities and experts acknowledge that it will take more than airstrikes to defeat the extremist group, which holds large parts of rural central and southern Somalia.

 

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