Trump says airstrikes on ISIS in Somalia killed terrorists without ‘harming civilians’
This photo provided by U.S. Africa Command, the U.S. military conducts coordinated airstrikes against Islamic State operatives in Somalia on Saturday.
AP/U.S. Africa Command
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AP/U.S. Africa Command
President Trump said he ordered airstrikes against an ISIS operatives in the Golis Mountains in Somalia this morning in a strike coordinated with the Somali government.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump announced the “precision” airstrikes, saying the attempt to target the “Senior ISIS Attack Planner” was successful.
“The strikes destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians,” Trump posted.
The White House declined to provide further information on the strike, like how many ISIS operatives were killed.
But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a statement that the Pentagon’s initital assessment is that multiple ISIS operatives were killed, and he reiterated no civillians were harmed.
He said the strike, conducted by the US-Africa command, sends “a clear signal” that the U.S. is ready to find and eliminate terrorists who threaten the U.S. and its allies.
“This action further degrades ISIS’s ability to plot and conduct terrorist attacks threatening U.S. citizens, our partners, and innocent civilians,” Hegseth said in the statement.
Trump criticized Biden for not acting quickly enough to target this particular operative — though the Biden White House did conduct other airstrikes in Somalia during his term, targeting Al Qaeda and ISIS positions.
