Image copyright AFP Image caption The 1993 downing of two helicopters shocked the US

The US says it is sending dozens of troops to Somalia to train forces fighting Islamist group al-Shabab.

This is the first time regular US troops have been deployed in Somalia since 1994, although some counter-terrorism advisers are already there.

President Donald Trump last month approved a directive allowing tougher action against al-Shabab.

In 1993, 18 US special forces personnel were killed in the incident dramatised in the Hollywood film Black Hawk Down.

Who are Somalia's al-Shabab?

The deaths, and the shooting down of two US helicopters in Mogadishu, shocked the US and the rest of its military personnel were withdrawn from Somalia shortly afterwards.

Hundreds of Somalis were also killed in the 15-hour battle sparked when US forces tried to capture close allies of warlord Mohammed Farah Aideed.

Since then, the US has restricted most of its activities in Somalia to drone and missile attacks against Islamist militants.

BBC World Service Africa editor Mary Harper says the US has also trained a highly effective elite Somali force.

The main focus now is the Somali army, which is fractured, undisciplined and poorly equipped, she says.

Several other countries, including the UK and Turkey, are also training Somali troops.

Al-Shabab, part of al-Qaeda, has a strong presence in many rural parts of Somalia and often stages attacks in the capital, Mogadishu, and elsewhere.

The African Union has a force of about 22,000 soldiers helping the Somali government fight al-Shabab.</s>The U.S. forces had been advising Ugandan soldiers with the African Union mission (AMISOM) during an operation against an illegal taxation checkpoint when the Ugandans got into a firefight with 15-20 al Shabaab fighters.

Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said no American forces were wounded on the ground during the incident, which took place west of Mogadishu, the capital.

"U.S. forces were not involved with this firefight. We were nearby but not directly involved ourselves," Davis told a Pentagon news briefing, adding that the American forces were further back from the fighting, acting in an advisory role.

Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab's military operation spokesman, denied al Shabaab took any casualties from what he described as a U.S. drone strike.

He also said the U.S. forces, after arriving in armoured vehicles, were repulsed by al Shabaab fighters. "There were no casualty. The U.S. forces retreated," he said.

The United States has about 50 military personnel inside Somalia and has repeatedly targeted the group in recent months, including a strike on a senior al Shabaab leader in April and another on a training camp in March that killed some 150 fighters.

On May 9, U.S. forces were working to advise Kenyan forces and Somali soldiers as they conducted a raid on another illegal al Shabaab checkpoint.

"U.S. forces participated only in an advise and assist role and did not encounter a direct threat in this event," said Pentagon spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Michelle Baldanza.

Al Shabaab was pushed out of Mogadishu by African Union peacekeeping forces in 2011 but has remained a potent antagonist in Somalia, launching frequent attacks in its bid to overthrow the Western-backed government.

The group, whose name means "The Youth," seeks to impose its strict version of sharia, Islamic law in Somalia, where it frequently unleashes attacks targeting security and government targets, as well as hotels and restaurants in the capital.

Al Shabaab was also behind deadly attacks in Kenya and Uganda, which both contribute troops to an African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia.</s>The Saturday strike, using both manned aircraft and unmanned MQ-9 Reaper drones, targeted al Shabaab's "Raso" training camp, a facility about 120 miles north of the capital Mogadishu, the Pentagon said.

The U.S. military had been monitoring the camp for several weeks before the strike and had gathered intelligence, including about an imminent threat posed by those in the camp to U.S. forces and African Union peacekeepers, officials said.

U.S. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James described the strike as "defensive" in nature.

"There was intelligence ... these fighters would soon be embarking upon missions that would directly impact the U.S. and our partners," James told reporters.

Two U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the targets were U.S. forces and African Union fighters in Somalia, but declined to offer additional details.

Captain Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said the United States believed the threat was "imminent" and that the fighters were poised to soon depart the camp.

Al Shabaab could not be reached for comment.

Somalia's Foreign Minister Abdusalam Omer said the Somali intelligence agency had provided information about the camp to the United States in the run-up to the attack.

"There has to be intelligence on the ground for this to happen. Our intelligence had helped," Omer told Reuters.

The al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab was pushed out of Mogadishu by African Union peacekeeping forces in 2011 but has remained a potent antagonist in Somalia, launching frequent attacks in its bid to overthrow the Western-backed government.

The group, whose name means "The Youth," seeks to impose its strict version of sharia law in Somalia, where it frequently unleashes attacks targeting security and government targets, as well as hotels and restaurants in the capital.

Al Shabaab was also behind deadly attacks in Kenya and Uganda, which both contribute troops to an African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia.

Omer said the U.S. drone strike was a major blow to al Shabaab.

"Instead of al Shabaab attacking civilians, it was a military target that was hit and there was a high success rate," Omer said.

Davis said as many as 200 fighters were believed to be training at the Raso camp at the time of the strike and expressed confidence there were no civilian casualties.

"Their removal will degrade al Shabaab's ability to meet the group's objectives in Somalia, which include recruiting new members, establishing bases and planning attacks on U.S. and Amisom forces there," Davis said.

He added that no U.S. forces on the ground participated in the strike, the largest in recent memory against the militant group, in terms of the number of fighters believed killed.</s>On Saturday, the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) killed 21 of the insurgents in the southern town of Afmadow in the ambush in which the two soldiers died.

David Obonyo, spokesman for KDF, said in a statement that on Sunday, Kenyan troops killed a further 13 fighters just north of Ras Kamboni, also in southern Somalia.

"The KDF soldiers pursued them following information of an intended probe attack. Following the incident, a middle level al Shabaab commander has been detained, 13 militants were killed," Obonyo said, referring to a reconnoitre attack by al Shabaab.

"Regrettably, KDF suffered two fatalities and five injuries. The injured were evacuated and are receiving medical attention," he said of the incident on Saturday. An improvised explosive device also damaged one of the Kenyan army's vehicles, he said.

He said from the two incidents, KDF troops had recovered 27 AK 47 rifles, five rocket propelled grenades, a pistol, two PKM machine guns and ammunition.

Somalia's government is battling to rebuild the Horn of Africa nation after more than two decades of conflict. Al Shabaab ruled large parts of Somalia until 2011, when it was driven out of Mogadishu by African Union (AU) and Somali troops.

The militants, who aim to topple the Western-backed government, often inflate casualty numbers and downplay the number of their own fighters killed.

Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab's military operation spokesman, told Reuters on Saturday their fighters had killed 12 soldiers in the Afmadow attack.

In January, Kenyan troops as part of the AU mission in Somalia (AMISOM) took heavy losses when al Shabaab launched a dawn raid on their camp in El Adde near the Kenyan border. No exact casualty figure has been given.

Al Shabaab said more than 100 soldiers were killed.</s>The global security picture is growing ever more complicated for the new U.S. president.

The United States will send several dozen troops to help train Somali forces in their fight against the al Qaeda-linked militant group al Shabab, Pentagon officials said Friday, the latest move in the tit-for-tat escalation in the troubled East African nation.

On March 30, President Donald Trump agreed to declare Somalia an “Area of Active Hostility,” which grants the military greater authority to launch strikes. The move suspends 2013 rules that require extensive interagency vetting to prevent air strikes from hitting civilians.

But escalation can easily lead to blowback in hot spots like Somalia, and that appears to be what is happening there now. A spate of suicide attacks followed reports of the U.S. declaration. Al-Shabab stated the suicide attacks were a “doubled response” to the Trump administration’s announcement. On April 9, 13 died in a failed assassination attempt against Somalia’s military head. On April 10, several soldiers perished in a suicide attack in the capital Mogadishu.

A Pentagon spokesperson told Foreign Policy that “fewer than 50” troops from the 101st Airborne Division had arrived to perform a “train and equip” mission with the Somali armed forces. They stressed this is separate from the new authorities to attack al Shabab recently granted by the White House.

The stepped-up military involvement in Somalia didn’t begin with Trump. U.S. Special Operations have had a presence on the ground for years, though regular troops have not been posted there since 1994. In March 2016, U.S. drones and manned aircraft launched an airstrike that killed up to 150 militants at an al-Shabab training camp north of Mogadishu, which the Pentagon believed was planning to carry out an attack on U.S. and African Union forces in the region. It was the deadliest U.S. mission in Somalia in years.

The situation in Somalia has grown more urgent in recent months. On April 6, new Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo declared war on al Shabab, also offering amnesty for fighters who voluntarily surrender to Somali government forces. “We want to pardon the Somali youth who were misled by al-Shabab,” said Farmajo at a press conference in the capital. The declaration of war, and the amnesty, come amid a severe drought and famine that threatens food security for millions in the already war-torn country.

Al-Shabab controls territory in rural portions of southern Somalia, where 22,000 African Union troops are currently fighting the militant group. It once controlled larger swaths of land and settlements, and for several years even ruled Mogadishu, but campaigns by African Union forces over the past several years has reduced its holdings. It aims to establish an Islamic state, and it enforces a strict interpretation of sharia law over the inhabitants of the lands it controls.

Al-Shabab has also carried out attacks in neighboring Kenya. In 2013, the group’s fighters stormed the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, killing 68. In March 2015, they killed 148 at Garissa University, which is close to the border with Somalia. Though the group operates primarily in the horn of Africa, over the past decades it has recruited several dozen Somalis living in the United States to join the fight in Somalia.

This piece has been updated to include comments from a Pentagon spokesperson.</s>Mogadishu - The US military is sending dozens of regular troops to Somalia in the largest such deployment to the Horn of Africa country in roughly two decades.

The United States pulled out of Somalia after 1993, when two helicopters were shot down in the capital, Mogadishu, and bodies of Americans were dragged through the streets.

The US Africa Command on Friday said this deployment is for logistics training of Somalia's army, which is battling the extremist group al-Shabaab.

The US in recent years has sent some special operations forces and advisers to Somalia, and President Donald Trump recently approved an expanded military role there. It includes carrying out more aggressive airstrikes against al-Shabaab.

The country's new Somali-American president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, last week declared a new offensive against the extremist group.</s>Dozens of American soldiers have deployed to Mogadishu to train and equip Somali and AMISOM (African Union Mission in Somalia) forces fighting extremism in that country, U.S. military officials told VOA.

The troops' arrival marks the first presence of American military forces in Somalia, other than a small unit of counterterrorism advisers, since March 1994 when the U.S. pulled out of the U.N. intervention operation in the war-torn state, five months after 18 U.S. special forces personnel were killed in a battle with Somali militiamen that inspired the movie Black Hawk Down.

"United States Africa Command will conduct various security cooperation and/or security force assistance events in Somalia in order to assist our allies and partners," U.S. Africa Command spokesman Pat Barnes told VOA on Thursday.

The move is another example of the acceleration of U.S. efforts to help combat violent extremism across the globe, a second military official said. The goal of the operation is to build partner capacity while helping to improve the logistics of local forces battling the military group al-Shabab.

A few dozen troops from the 101st Airborne Division in Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, arrived in Mogadishu on April 2 at the request of the Somali government, a U.S. military official told VOA.

The team is carrying out a train-and-equip mission that is expected to last through the end of September, according to the official.

Former Deputy Secretary of Defense Rudy DeLeon, a senior fellow with the Center for American Progress, said the U.S. team will help instill the professionalism and discipline that the local force can use to create the terms for security.

"It gives them the tools to help themselves," DeLeon said in an interview with VOA.

The U.S. usually has a small unit of between 3 and 50 American troops in Somalia supporting U.S.-Somali military-to-military relations, and advising and assisting Somali troops. The new arrivals from the 101st Airborne Division will not be added to the mission of those Americans currently on the ground in Somalia, a military official said, "but there will be some overlap."

Last week, Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed called on al-Shabab fighters to surrender within 60 days in return for education and jobs.

Days later, a car bomb targeted senior officials leaving a military base in Mogadishu, killing at least 15 people and destroying a minibus carrying civilians, the Somali military said. Al-Shabab militants claimed responsibility.</s>Sign up for one of our email newsletters.

MOGADISHU, Somalia — The U.S. military is sending dozens of regular troops to Somalia in the largest such deployment to the Horn of Africa country in roughly two decades.

The United States pulled out of Somalia after 1993, when two helicopters were shot down in the capital, Mogadishu, and bodies of Americans were dragged through the streets. Even now, Somalia's fragile central government is struggling to assert itself after the nationwide chaos that began with the fall of dictator Siad Barre in 1991.

The U.S. Africa Command on Friday said this deployment is for logistics training of Somalia's army, which is battling the terrorist group al-Shabab that emerged from the country's years of warlord-led conflict. About 40 troops are taking part.

The United States in recent years has sent a small number of special operations forces and counter-terror advisers to Somalia, and President Trump recently approved an expanded military role there. It includes carrying out more aggressive airstrikes against al-Shabab and considering parts of southern Somalia areas of active hostilities.

The country's new Somali-American president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, last week declared a new offensive against the terrorist group.</s>US troops to help Somalia fight al-Shabab

The last regular US soldiers left after the "Black Hawk Down" killings of special forces personnel....
• In the last 1 day
• VOA Exclusive: Dozens More US Troops Deployed to Somalia VOA Africa (Yesterday) - Dozens of American soldiers have deployed to Mogadishu to train and equip Somali and AMISOM...
• US troops to help Somalia fight al-Shabab
• In the last 2 days
• Somali President Vows to Eradicate Militants as He Offers Peace Talks VOA Africa (2 days ago) - Somali's president vowed Wednesday that his administration will eradicate the terrorist militant group al-Shabab across...
• Jeshi la Kenya lawauawa wapiganaji 15 wa Al Shabab nchini Somalia
• US troops to help Somalia fight al-Shabab</s>FILE - In a Dec. 10, 1992 file photo, a U.S. Marine gives the thumbs up as a truck load of troops arrive at the reopened U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu, Somalia. According to the U.S. Africa Command on Friday April 14, 2017, the U.S. military is sending dozens of regular troops to Somalia to train Somali soldiers in the largest such deployment to the Horn of Africa country in roughly two decades. (AP Photo/Denis Pauqin, File)

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The U.S. military is sending dozens of regular troops to Somalia in the largest such deployment to the Horn of Africa country in roughly two decades.

The United States pulled out of Somalia after 1993, when two helicopters were shot down in the capital, Mogadishu, and bodies of Americans were dragged through the streets. Even now, Somalia's fragile central government is struggling to assert itself after the nationwide chaos that began with the fall of dictator Siad Barre in 1991.

The U.S. Africa Command on Friday said this deployment is for logistics training of Somalia's army, which is battling the extremist group al-Shabab that emerged from the country's years of warlord-led conflict. About 40 troops are taking part.

The U.S. in recent years has sent a small number of special operations forces and counter-terror advisers to Somalia, and President Donald Trump recently approved an expanded military role there. It includes carrying out more aggressive airstrikes against al-Shabab and considering parts of southern Somalia areas of active hostilities.

The country's new Somali-American president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, last week declared a new offensive against the extremist group, which is based in Somalia but has claimed responsibility for major attacks in East Africa, including the Garissa University attack in neighboring Kenya in April 2015 that killed 148 people.

Al-Shabab also caused alarm in February 2016 when it claimed responsibility for the bombing of an airliner that made an emergency landing with a gaping hole in the fuselage shortly after taking off from Mogadishu.

The extremist group this week announced that its recent escalation of deadly attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere is in "doubled response" to Trump's approval of expanded U.S. military efforts. On Sunday, Somalia's new military chief survived a suicide car bomb attack following his swearing-in, while 13 people were killed. A day later, a suicide bombing at a military academy in Mogadishu killed at least five soldiers.

Al-Shabab was chased out of Mogadishu several years ago by national and African Union multinational forces but still controls some rural areas. Meanwhile, fighters pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group have emerged in the northern part of the country.

Pressure is growing on Somalia's army to assume full security for the country as the 22,000-strong African Union force plans to leave by the end of 2020. Last month, the head of the AU mission said Somalia's army has been unable to take charge as expected.

The AU force will begin withdrawing in 2018, "and if this departure begins prior to Somalia having capable security forces, large portions of Somalia are at risk of returning to al-Shabab control or potentially allowing ISIS to gain a stronger foothold in the country," the head of the U.S. Africa Command, Commander General Thomas Waldhauser, said last month.
The United States is to deploy troops to Somalia for the first time since 1994 to help train the Somali Armed Forces in their conflict with al-Shabaab insurgents.