Image copyright AFP Image caption The US says it is committed to eradicating al-Shabab safe havens in Somalia

The US military says it believes some 60 al-Shabab militants were killed by one of its air strikes in central Somalia on Friday.

The "precision" strike around Harardere did not injure or kill civilians, it added in a statement.

The US said the attack was carried out as part of a joint effort with Somali forces to hit the al-Shabab group.

This was the deadliest air strike since November 2017 when 100 militants were killed, the statement added.

Al-Shabab, which is linked to al-Qaeda, has not yet commented.

"Alongside our Somali and international partners, we are committed to preventing al-Shabab from taking advantage of safe havens from which they can build capacity and attack the people of Somalia," the US Africa Command said.

The US military has conducted more than two dozen air strikes, including drone strikes, in Somalia this year, the Associated Press news agency reports.

A major setback for militants

Analysis by Will Ross, BBC News Africa editor

The US military is claiming to have had significant success against al-Shabab, which would represent a major setback for the al-Qaeda-linked group.

It is however hard to independently verify the impact of these air strikes which have become more frequent under Donald Trump's presidency.

They are controversial as previous attacks have often been followed by accusations that civilians were also been killed or injured. This latest strike was not in southern Somalia like most have been, but further up the coast near Harardere - which used to be a piracy hub.

Al-Shabab has become more powerful in central Somalia since Ethiopian troops withdrew from the area last year.

US President Donald Trump expanded military operations against al-Shabab in March 2017.

Traditionally, US presidents have been wary of intervening in Somalia since 18 special forces soldiers died fighting militias in the capital Mogadishu in 1993, a battle dramatised in the film Black Hawk Down.

Al-Shabab was forced out of Mogadishu in August 2011 following an offensive spearheaded by African Union (AU) troops.

But it still has a strong presence in regions around the capital.

The port town of Harardere was the hub for piracy in the region when the hijacking of ships off the Somali coast was at its peak in 2009-2011.</s>A U.S. airstrike targeting al-Shabaab militants in Somalia killed about 60 fighters, according to U.S. Africa Command. The airstrike, conducted Friday, was the largest against the al Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab in nearly a year, when U.S. forces killed about 100 extremists in an attack on one of their camps.

U.S. Africa Command said in a statement Tuesday it assesses no civilians were injured or killed in Friday's airstrike, which took place in the vicinity of Harardere, in central Somalia.

The airstrike came just days before the one-year anniversary of al-Shabaab's deadliest attack -- a truck bombing in Somalia's capital that killed more than 500 people.

"Airstrikes reduce al-Shabaab's ability to plot future attacks, disrupt its leadership networks, and degrade its freedom of maneuver within the region," U.S. Africa Command said in its statement.

The number of U.S. airstrikes in Somalia has risen sharply since under Donald Trump's presidency, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. The U.S. seeks to stop the country from becoming a place where terror groups can plot attacks against the U.S. and destabilize the Horn of Africa, the think tank says.</s>"This precision airstrike was the largest airstrike against al-Shabaab since November 21, 2017, when US forces conducted an airstrike against an al-Shabaab camp killing approximately 100 terrorists," AFRICOM said in a Tuesday news release. American warplanes struck the al-Shabaab-controlled area of Haradere in Mudug province, which is located in north-central Somalia.

The US command also claimed to assess that "this airstrike did not injure or kill any civilians." Since 2007, the US military's combat drones have waged war against al-Qaeda's affiliates in Somalia, among them al-Shabaab.

Somalia has been engulfed in violence since the eruption of a civil war between clan-based, armed factions in the early 1990s. Al-Shabaab has staged numerous attacks across the country in an attempt to impose a radical version of Sharia law.

On Sunday, a pair of suicide bombings in southwest Somalia killed at least 17 people while wounding 70 more, Sputnik News reported. The day marked the one-year anniversary of what has been dubbed Somalia's 9/11, when truck bombers slaughtered 587 people in Mogadishu.</s>A U.S. military airstrike in central Somalia this weekend killed 60 Al Shabab fighters, the largest airstrike targeting the al-Qaeda affiliated terror group in more than a year, officials said Tuesday.

U.S. Africa Command said in a statement that the strike occurred on October 12 near Harardere, a town 250 miles north of Mogadishu.

“We currently assess this airstrike killed approximately sixty (60) terrorists,” said the statement. “This precision airstrike was the largest airstrike against al-Shabaab since November 21, 2017, when U.S. forces conducted an airstrike against an al-Shabaab camp killing approximately 100 terrorists.”

“We also currently assess this airstrike did not injure or kill any civilians,” it added.

Airstrikes in Somalia are usually carried out by unmanned Reaper drones and are small in scope.

U.S. Africa Command is authorized to conduct self-defense strikes in situations when African Union or Somali government troops accompanied by U.S. advisers came under attack.

They are also authorized to conduct offensive airstrikes in the southern part of the country targeting al Shabab safe havens.

Africom had disclosed the airstrike on October 12, but had provided no details other than to say “we are currently assessing the results of this airstrike.”

The Nov. 21, 2017, airstrike targeted an al Shabab training camp in southern Somalia and occurred during a time when there was an uptick in the number of airstrikes against the militant group.

There are about 500 U.S. military personnel in Somalia participating in an advise and assist mission with the Somali military.</s>The US military on Tuesday announced its deadliest airstrike against the al-Shabaab extremist group in Somalia in nearly a year, killing about 60 fighters.

The US Africa Command said Friday’s airstrike occurred near the community of Harardere in Mudug province in the central part of the country. According to its assessment no civilians were injured or killed, the statement said.

It was the largest US airstrike since one on November 21, 2017, killed about 100 al-Shabaab fighters. The statement gave no further details about what was targeted in this latest strike and the US Africa Command did not immediately respond to questions.

The US military has carried out more than two dozen airstrikes, including drone strikes, this year against the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab, the deadliest Islamic extremist group in sub-Saharan Africa.

Somalia on Sunday marked the first anniversary of al-Shabaab’s deadliest attack, a truck bombing in Mogadishu that killed well over 500 people. It was one of the world’s deadliest attacks since 9/11 and the worst extremist attack ever in Africa.

The United States, which also has targeted a small number of fighters linked to the Islamic State group in northern Somalia, has increased its military presence in the long-chaotic Horn of Africa nation since early 2017 to about 500 personnel after President Donald Trump approved expanded military operations.

Al-Shabaab, which seeks to establish an Islamic state in Somalia, continues to hold parts of the country’s south and central regions after being chased out of Mogadishu several years ago. The group, estimated at several thousands of fighters, still carries out deadly attacks against high-profile targets such as hotels and checkpoints in the capital and other cities. It also remains a threat in parts of neighbouring Kenya.

While some observers have questioned the effectiveness of airstrikes by the US and Kenya and raised concerns about civilians being killed, the US military maintains that they “reduce al-Shabaab’s ability to plot future attacks, disrupt its leadership networks and degrade its freedom of maneuver within the region.”

Somali forces in the next few years are expected to take over responsibility for the country’s security from an African Union peacekeeping force, which already has started withdrawing hundreds of personnel.

The US says it continues to support that transfer even as some US military officials have joined AU officials and others in expressing concern that Somalia’s forces are not yet ready.</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A recent U.S. air strike in Somalia killed about 60 al Shabaab militants in the largest strike against the group in nearly a year, the U.S. military said on Tuesday.

In a statement, the U.S. military said a strike last week near Harardere, Somalia, killed “approximately sixty terrorists.”

In November 2017, more than 100 militants from Islamist al Shabaab group were killed in a U.S. air strike.</s>Mogadishu, Oct 17 (IANS) The US military on Tuesday said its special forces conducted an airstrike in the vicinity of Harardhere town in Mudug region of central Somalia on October 12, killing 60 Al Shabab militants.

The US Africa Command (Africom) which oversees American troops on the African continent said this airstrike was the largest airstrike against the militants since November 21, 2017, when American forces killed about 100 terrorists in an airstrike against the insurgents’ camp, Xinhua reported.

“We currently assess this airstrike killed approximately 60 terrorists. We also currently assess this airstrike did not injure or kill any civilians,” Africom said in a statement.

Africom has vowed to work with its partners to transfer the responsibility for lasting security from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to the Somali government and its member states.

“Alongside our Somali and international partners, we are committed to preventing al-Shabab from taking advantage of safe havens from which they can build capacity and attack the people of Somalia,” the statement said.

“In particular, the group uses portions of southern and central Somalia to plot and direct terror attacks, steal humanitarian aid, extort the local populace to fund its operations, and shelter radical terrorists.” it said.</s>The United States conducted its largest air strike in nearly two years against militants in Somalia, killing about 60 Al-Shabaab fighters, the US military said Tuesday.

"This precision air strike was the largest air strike against Al-Shabaab since November 21, 2017," when air-dropped US munitions targeted one of the group's training camps, killing about 100 extremists, US Africa Command said in a statement.

The strike took place Friday in the Harardhere area along the central coast of the Horn of Africa country, where US forces train Somali troops and also partner with the United Nations-backed African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

Air assaults and missile strikes have increased in recent months against Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda affiliate fighting to overthrow the internationally backed Somali government in Mogadishu.

The surge in activity came after President Donald Trump last year loosened constraints on the US military in Somalia, allowing commanders to take action against suspected militants when they judge it is needed, without seeking specific White House approval.

"Air strikes reduce Al-Shabaab's ability to plot future attacks, disrupt its leadership networks, and degrade its freedom of maneuver within the region," Africa Command said in a statement.

"The group uses portions of southern and central Somalia to plot and direct terror attacks, steal humanitarian aid, extort the local populace to fund its operations and shelter radical terrorists."

Friday's air strike came a day before suicide bombers killed at least 16 people at a restaurant and coffee shop in the southwestern city of Baidoa.

It also came ahead of the first anniversary Sunday of a truck bombing that left more than 500 dead in Mogadishu, the worst ever attack in Somalia blamed on Al-Shabaab.

Last month, Africa Command said American and allied forces had come under attack in Somalia, triggering an air strike in self-defense that killed 18 Shabaab extremists in the country's south.

In June, an American commando was killed during an attack in southern Somalia that also wounded four US military members and a Somali soldier, officials said at the time.

More than 500 American personnel are partnered with Somali forces and AMISOM, which aims to counter the threat from Al-Shabaab jihadists.

Shabaab fighters were pushed out of Somalia's capital in 2011, and subsequently from other towns and cities, by AMISOM troops.

But the Islamists still hold sway in large parts of the countryside.

They launch regular gun and bomb attacks on government, military and civilian targets in Mogadishu as well as ambushes on military convoys and outposts.</s>WASHINGTON - A recent US airstrike near the town of Harardere in Somalia killed an estimated 60 al-Shabab terrorists, United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) said in a press release on Tuesday.

“In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, US forces conducted an airstrike targeting al-Shabaab militants in the vicinity of Harardere, Somalia, on October 12, 2018, as previously released,” the release said. “We currently assess this airstrike killed approximately sixty (60) terrorists.”

AFRICOM said the “precision” attack was the largest one conducted by US forces since November 21, 2017, when an airstrike on an al-Shabab training camp killed around 100 terrorists. It added that no civilians were killed or injured in the Oct. 12 attack. Somalia has been engulfed in violence since the eruption of a civil war between clan-based armed factions in the early 1990s.

Al-Shabab, which has sworn allegiance to the Al-Qaeda terror group (banned in Russia), has been staging numerous attacks across the country in an attempt to impose a radical version of Sharia law.</s>The United States conducted its largest air strike in nearly two years against militants in Somalia, killing about 60 Al-Shabaab fighters, the US military said Tuesday.

"This precision air strike was the largest air strike against Al-Shabaab since November 21, 2017," when air-dropped US munitions targeted one of the group's training camps, killing about 100 extremists, US Africa Command said in a statement.

The strike took place Friday in the Harardhere area along the central coast of the Horn of Africa country, where US forces train Somali troops and also partner with the United Nations-backed African Union Mission in Somalia.

Air assaults and missile strikes have increased in recent months against the Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda affiliate fighting to overthrow the internationally backed Somali government in Mogadishu.

Friday's air strike came the day before suicide bombers killed at least 16 people at a restaurant and coffee shop in the southwestern city of Baidoa.

It also came just before the first anniversary Sunday of a truck bombing that left more than 500 dead in Mogadishu, the worst ever attack in Somalia blamed on Al-Shabaab.
The United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) says that a U.S. airstrike has killed around 60 al-Shabaab militants near Harardhere in central Somalia.