Somalia: Fresh airstrike leaves several Al-Shabaab fighters dead

MOGADISHU, Somalia - A new airstrike in Somalia left several Al-Shabaab fighters dead, reports indicate, just hours after the group killed several foreign soldiers in one of the training camps in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

Military sources told Garowe Online that the new airstrike was activated in Jamame township within Lower Jubba, killing at least 20 fighters who have been conducting terror activities in the Horn of Africa nation, particularly in southern regions.

This is the fifth airstrike this year in Somalia with the US military increasing intensity in the fight against Al-Shabaab, a group that has been pushing for the ouster of the UN-backed federal government of Somalia for the last 17 years.

Along with the Somali National Army (SNA), the US Army usually gives aerial surveillance and support in operations against the Al-Shabaab militants, who have been suffering losses following spirited operations in recent months across the country.

Also in the play are the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) troops who have been offering support to the local troops on the battlefield. The ATMIS troops have started strategically exiting from the country in line with the Somali Transition Plan (STP).

The airstrike, even though it hasn't been confirmed by the US Africa Command, comes just after four United Arab Emirates soldiers and another one from Bahrain were killed by Alshabab in General Gordon's military training base within Somalia.

Al-Shabab militants have lost several strategic towns within the last year after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud declared a total war against them. The group has been swindling money from locals through extortion but their tactics have been neutralized.

GAROWE ONLINE