The Pentagon on Thursday revealed another case in which U.S. troops were very close to combat, but technically weren’t in it.
Military officials said a “small number” of U.S. troops were in Somalia “advising and assisting” Ugandan troops who were conducting a raid against what was described as “an illegal taxation checkpoint” early Thursday morning west of the capital Mogadishu.
The U.S. forces were close enough to see the Ugandan troops, part of U.N.-approved African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM), were in trouble, taking heavy fire from about 15-20 fighters from al Shabab, a group linked to al Qaeda.
The Americans called in an airstrike, which killed five of the al Shabab militants.
“U.S. forces were not involved with this firefight. We were nearby, but not directly involved ourselves,” said Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis.
The Pentagon called it a “defensive strike” and said it was called in because the al Shabab militants posed an imminent threat to the AMISOM forces.
“This is something we’re doing as we continue to work closely with partner forces to combat al Shabab in Somalia,” said Davis. “Al Shabaab has pledged allegiance to al Qaeda, and they continue to use safe havens in Somalia to plot attacks against U.S. citizens, and U.S. interests in East Africa.”
Davis would not reveal the what type of U.S. aircraft was involved, but the U.S. typically uses drones for strikes in Somalia.
He said the U.S. has a total of about 50 U.S. troops assisting Somali and AMISOM forces as they combat al Shabab.
