WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th December, 2020) A Christmas Eve US airstrike targeted an al-Shabab terrorist compound in the Somali town of Saakow, damaging buildings and forcing several fighters to flee, Africa Command (AFRICOM) said in a press release on Thursday.
"The initial assessment concluded the strike damaged the compound and several al-Shabaab fighters fled, thwarting nefarious activity," the release said. "The command currently assesses no civilians were injured or killed as a result of this operation."
In early December, the US Defense Department announced that nearly all of about 700 troops now in Somalia will leave by January 15, as President Donald Trump seeks to end American involvement in what he calls "endless wars' in the Mideast, Africa and elsewhere .
AI-Shabab, the East African affiliate of al Qaeda (a terrorist group banned in Russia), has carried out numerous attacks against the UN-backed government in Somalia and targets in bordering nations in a bid to establish an Islamist nation.
