(Washington) The United States destroyed weapons and equipment stolen from Al-Shabaab jihadists in Somalia in an airstrike near an African Union force military base, authorities said SATURDAY.
The Bulo Marer base, located 120 kilometers southwest of the capital Mogadishu, housed Ugandan soldiers when it was attacked on Friday by this jihadist group linked to Al-Qaeda.
In a statement, the US command for Africa claimed to have “destroyed weapons and equipment illegally taken” by radical Islamists Al-Shabaab, without specifying when or where the weapons were stolen.
“US Africa Command conducted an airstrike against militants in the vicinity” of Bulo Marer on Friday, in support of the Somali federal government and the African Union force (Atmis), according to the same source.
Al-Shabaab operatives stormed the base with a car bomb and suicide bombers, which resulted in an exchange of fire, residents and a military commander told AFP. Somali.
The human toll of the attack led by these jihadists has not been communicated.
The US Africa Command said its “primary assessment is that no civilians were injured or killed” during its operation.
Atmis-backed pro-government forces launched a military offensive last August against Al-Shabaab, backed by US airstrikes.
The jihadist group shebab has been fighting for more than fifteen years the federal government supported by the international community, in order to establish Islamic law in Somalia.
Driven out of the main cities in 2011-2012, the Shebab remain firmly established in vast rural areas, from where they continue to carry out attacks against security and civilian targets.