A top CIA officer killed in a recent operation in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia - A top CIA officer was killed in a recent operation in Somalia, New York Times reports, adding that the officer sustained serious wounds and later succumbed, in one of the setbacks recorded by the US Africa Command in the Horn of Africa nation.

The exact date of the death and the officer's name is yet to be established, but around September, US forces were attacked by Al-Shabaab militants in Janay Abdalla base near Kismayo, where a US service member was critically injured. Sources say the victim is a former Navy Seal.

In Somalia, the US has close to 700 officers working under the US Africa Command, which is domiciled in Balligodle Airfield. The officers are responsible for training and equipping the Somali National Army, Danab Special Forces contingent.

Recently, reports emerged that outgoing US President Donald Trump could be withdrawing the soldiers by January 15, but the State Department and the Department of Defense are yet to issue corresponding sentiments. The plan will affect most Africa and Asian nations.

US Special Operations forces have been embedded with the Somali National Army, assisting in the fight against the militant group Al-Shabaab. As well as advising on airstrikes and ground assaults, the Navy SEAL-led team's primary task is to train and build Somalia its own elite light infantry force.

Since January, the forces have waged 46 airstrikes in Somalia, which have leftover 60 militants dead. Most of those who have been confirmed dead are senior commanders among them Bashir Qorgab and Yusuf Jiis, who had been on the US radar for several years.

Qorgab was accused of planning the attack at the US base in Kenya on January 5 where at least three Americans died. The US Africa Command has since deployed more soldiers to Manda Airfield where the drones are domiciled.

As is tradition, the officer's death will lead to another star being placed on the CIA's Memorial Wall in the atrium of CIA headquarters. The wall pays tribute to the men and women who lost their lives in the line of duty for the spy agency. The CIA tweeted in September that the wall featured 135 stars.

While US military advisers in Somalia typically seek to let Somali forces take the lead during operations, there have been incidents where US forces have found themselves in combat situations. CIA declined to comment when asked by the NYT.

A Pentagon Inspector General report released this year described the conflict in Somalia as being at a "stalemate," with US-backed Somali government forces continuing to battle Al-Shabaab, with the insurgent group continuing to target Somali and international forces in the country's southern provinces.

Al-Shabaab is estimated to command between 5,000 and 10,000 fighters, according to estimates from Africa Command and the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Though US military advisers have been in Somalia since at least 2013, the effort got a major boost under the Trump administration, which volunteered to undertake the Danab advisory mission in 2017 in addition to expanding drone strikes.

The team has been significantly neutralized and it's believed that they have been struggling with a leadership crisis. However, the Al-Shabaab controls large swathes of rural central and southern Somalia.

GAROWE ONLINE