U.S. Africa Command showed it is not about to scale back the fight against Islamic terrorist group al Shabab in Somalia, releasing its first video of a targeted airstrike Dec. 10 as American soldiers prepare to leave the country at President Trump’s orders.
The short, black-and-white video with blue crosshairs shows a precision missile hitting a target inside a building compound. AFRICOM said eight bomb makers were killed and two were injured in the strike.
“Even when the repositioning of forces occurs, AFRICOM will ensure a focus on the continuity of operations and support in Somalia and the East African region,” U.S. Air Force Col. Christopher Karns told the Washington Examiner.
“The airstrikes reflect this fact and demonstrates Al-Shabaab will not go unchecked,” he added.
Ten days ago, Trump made good on a campaign promise to end the “forever wars” that keep service members globally deployed when he ordered 750 troops out of Somalia.
The move followed a Nov. 26 visit by acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller, himself a former Special Forces operator, to Somalia and America’s only African base, Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti.
AFRICOM commanders recently told the Washington Examiner the U.S. troops were vital to the continued terrorist fight against al Shabab, a group with global ambitions and al Qaeda connections.
“We think that al Shabab is the most significant terrorist network in Africa that can conduct attacks into the homeland,” U.S. Army Africa commander, Maj. Gen. Andrew Rohling told the Washington Examiner in November.
Rohling explained that Army troops in Somalia were training the elite Somali Army DANAB battalion to track down and root out terrorists.
“American soldiers on the ground provide capacity and capability unmatched across the world today,” he added in the phone interview from the U.S. Army Africa headquarters at Camp Ederle in Vicenza, Italy.
Nonetheless, Trump ordered the troops out, and AFRICOM scrambled to reposition the soldiers in neighboring countries so they could still conduct the fight from outside Somali borders.
Karns said the drone that killed eight bomb makers near Jalib, Somalia, shows that AFRICOM can still monitor al Shabab activity.
“It is important to help people understand who this enemy is and what they represent,” he said in describing why the command decided to release the video.
Karns did not say if drone strikes can continue once all American troops are out of Somalia.
Since 2018, al Shabab has conducted about 45 car bomb attacks in the capital of Mogadishu, killing more than 400 people.
“Every time an Al-Shabaab bomb maker or explosives expert is killed it saves countless lives by permanently eliminating potential plans and future timelines for destruction,” Karns explained.
