Somalia Airstrike: 150 Al-Shabab militants killed, says Pentagon

Pentagon said the strike occurred sometime Saturday on a camp called Raso, about 195 kilometres north of Mogadishu

WASHINGTON: A US air strike killed more than 150 Al-Shabab fighters in Somalia over the weekend, the Pentagon said Monday. “The fighters were training for a large-scale attack. We know they were going to be departing the camp and posed an imminent threat to US and (African Union) forces,” Pentagon spokesman Capt Jeff Davis said. He said the strike occurred sometime Saturday on a camp called Raso, about 195 kilometres north of Mogadishu. Manned warplanes and drones were used in the attack.  “Initial assessments are that more than 150 terrorist fighters were eliminated,” he added. Davis said the group had neared the completion of specialist training to conduct ‘offensive operations,’ but he did not give any details about the assault the fighters were allegedly planning.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 8^th, 2016.