US soldier killed in Somalia
June 9, 2018
One US special operations soldier was killed in an attack in Somalia that also wounded four other US commandos and a member of a multinational force fighting al-Qaida linked al-Shabab militants, the US military said on Friday.
A force of about 800 Somali and Kenyan troops backed by US Special Forces were conducting a military operation in the southern Jubaland area when it came under attack on Friday by al-Shabab, the US Africa Command said.
Read more: Somalia: Former al-Shabab militants share their story
The multinational force "came under mortar and small-arms fire at approximately 2:45 p.m. Mogadishu time, killing one US service member and injuring four US service members and one partner force member," it said in a statement.
The multi-day mission in the area aimed "to clear al-Shabab from contested areas, liberate villages from al-Shabab control, and establish a permanent combat outpost designed to increase the span of Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) security and governance," the military said.
"The US provided advice, assistance and aerial surveillance during the mission," it added.
Some 500 US Special Forces are in Somalia supporting the government in Mogadishu and an African Union force in a long-running counterterrorism program against al-Shabab.
The al-Qaida-linked group seeks to topple the internationally recognized government, which in recent years has pushed back al-Shabab from many cities and towns. although the group continues to carry out terror attacks.
The US regularly carries out drone strikes and supports raids on al-Shabab.
Last year, a US Navy Seal was killed in an al-Shabab attack.
cw/bw (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)