US air strike in Somalia kills more than 100 Al Shabab fighters

US forces conducted an air strike against the Al Qaeda-affiliated Al Shabab group in Somalia on Tuesday, killing more than 100 militants, military officials said.

The strike had been carried out 201 kilometres (125 miles) northwest of the capital, Mogadishu and that the US would continue to target militants, said US Africa Command said in a statement.

"In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, US forces conducted an air strike in Somalia against an Al Shabab camp on Tuesday, November 21 at approximately 10:30 am local Somalia time (0730 GMT), killing more than 100 militants." 

"Al Shabab has publicly committed to planning and conducting attacks against the US and our partners in the region," the statement said.

Strikes in Somalia

US air strikes killing such a large number of militants in Somalia are rare, but not unprecedented. 

On November 13, the Pentagon said US forces had killed 40 Al Shabab and Daesh fighters in a series of Somalia strikes over several days.

In March 2016, a US air strike killed more than 150 Al Shabab fighters in Somalia.

The US has conducted an increasing number of airstrikes in Somalia this year, reflecting the Trump administration's decision to approve expanded military operations against militants there.

Al Shabab is fighting to topple Somalia’s Western-backed transitional federal government and impose its own rule on the Horn of Africa country.

Al Shabab has lost control of most of Somalia’s cities and towns since it was pushed out of Mogadishu in 2011. But it retains a strong presence in parts of the south and centre and carries out gun and bomb attacks.