Somalia says it requested US air strike that killed suspected militants
Mogadishu — Somalia’s government said on Wednesday that it had requested a US air strike that killed scores of suspected militants to help pave the way for an upcoming ground offensive against Islamist group al-Shabaab. The US military’s Africa Command (Africom) said on Tuesday that it had killed more than 100 of the al-Qaeda-linked insurgents in the strike on a camp 200km north-west of the capital Mogadishu. "Those militants were preparing explosives and attacks. Operations against al-Shabaab have been stepped up," Somali information minister Abdirahman Omar Osman told Reuters. "We have asked the US to help us from the air to make our readied ground offensive more successful." Al-Shabaab spokesperson Abdiasis abu Musab denied the air strike had taken place, saying, "It is just ... propaganda." The US has ramped up operations in Somalia this year after President Donald Trump loosened the rules of engagement in March. Africom reported eight US air strikes from May to August, compared...
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