Roughly 50 USA special operations troops have been operating in Somalia on a rotational basis for the last few years.
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There was no claim of responsibility for the blast, but it bore the hallmarks of al-Shabab.
USA forces were serving in an advisory role and provided the helicopter transportation for the mission, said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman.
He said the commandos carried rocket launchers and M16 rifles – referring to a weapon used by USA forces although Abu Musab did not mention any nationality.
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In a move to stop what the USA military said was an imminent threat against US troops and African peacekeeping forces in Somalia, a USA strike in Somalia killed as many as 150 suspected Al-Shabaab fighters, the Pentagon said Monday.
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) – Three police officers and one civilian were killed in a auto bombing outside a police academy in the Somali capital, a police commander said, and a spokesman for an Islamic extremist group said it repelled an attack by global forces.
“The government of Somalia welcomes working with the United States and other forces to defeat terror group Al-Shabaab”, Aato said. They said the mobile phone network did not work during fighting. “The fact that al-Shabab feels emboldened enough to gather so many together in one place, these are hardly signs of a group on the run”.
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Missiles and bombs were thrown at the area in a “legitimate defense” operation adds the United States military, which believed there have been no civilian casualties. Al Shabaab said the number was exaggerated. Al-Shabab, which traditionally has operated in southern Somalia, has even expanded its operations northward into the central region of Galmudug and the semiautonomous region of Puntland, he said.
