The United States and Somalia have carried out an aerial attack on Islamist militants during a battle for controlling a strategic central city, according to the government.
The « well-coordinated » strike in Adan Yabaal, north of the Mogadiscio capital, arrived hours after Al-Shabab attacked the city, which is used as a key launch for military operations.
Among the twelve militants killed in the air attack were several senior fighters of the group linked to the Al-Qaeda, the Information Ministry of Somalia said in a statement about x.
The last bouts occur in the midst of jihadist resurgence in Somalia after growing militant attacks, including one that directed the convoy of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud last month.
Al-Shabab, which controls large parts of the south and central Somalia, has been fighting the government for almost 20 years. It seeks to demolish the federal government and establish an Islamist state.
The Peace maintenance force led by the African Union helped push jihadists defensively in 2022 and 2023, but the group is still a great threat despite numerous military operations against him.
The Somalia government insists that the group has weakened.
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« The target strike reached a place used by militants as a meeting and hiding, » he said, « it is important that there were no civilian victims. »
Adan Yabaal, in the Shabelle Mitjà region, was captured by Al-Shabab in 2016 before being recovered by government forces in 2022.
On Wednesday, strong fighting exploded after Al-Shabab fighters attacked the city, using strong explosives.
Later, the group said he had captured the city. Two local residents told the AFP news agency that the militants had taken control of Adan Yabaal.
The government did not say who was currently in control of the city.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud visited the city last month and met with military commanders, emphasizing its strategic importance in the fight against militants.
In a separate incident, the national army said that at least 35 fighters near the city of Baidoa, after trying to attack a base of the army there, said the ministry.
President Mohamud has reduced Al-Shabab advances, saying that the occasional setbacks of the battlefield were inevitable. He has maintained that his government was determined to defeat the militants.
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