In a statement on Wednesday, the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said it carried out an air strike against al-Shabab fighters who were attacking Somali military forces near the town of Buulobarde on September 18.
AFRICOM said no civilians were injured in what was “the largest combined Somali and [African Union Transition Mission in Somalia, ATMIS] offensive operation in five years”.
The US has been carrying out air strikes in Somalia against al-Shabab, an armed group linked to al-Qaeda, for years.
Sunday’s strike in Buulobarde, about 200km (125 miles) north of the capital, Mogadishu, was the sixth recorded so far this year, according to the AFRICOM website.
Residents of the Hiran region say al-Shabab’s torching of houses, destruction of wells and killing of civilians, combined with demands for taxes amidst the worst drought in 40 years, has pushed locals to form paramilitary groups to fight alongside the government.
Earlier this month, al-Shabab fighters killed at least 19 civilians and destroyed trucks delivering food aid in an attack in the area.
Ali Abdulle, a community leader in the town of Beledweyne, told The Associated Press news agency by phone that al-Shabab had made life for residents so miserable they had to fight back.
Al-Shabab has battled Somalia’s central government for more than a decade in its push to establish its own rule based on a strict interpretation of Islamic law.
