Know Your Value</s>iStock/Thinkstock(BARI, Somalia) — A U.S. Navy SEAL died Thursday during a mission against al-Shabaab near Bari, Somalia, according to U.S. Africa Command.

It is the first U.S. military combat death in Somalia since 1993.

U.S. forces were conducting an advise-and-assist mission about 40 miles west of Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, with members of the Somali National Army when the group came under attack in the middle of the night.

U.S. and Somali forces were attacked shortly after arriving by helicopter to the target location, a compound that housed a group of al-Shabaab militants associated with an attack on facilities nearby used by Somali and U.S. military forces.

“We helped bring them in there with our aircraft,” Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters today. “We were there maintaining a distance back as they conducted the operation, that’s when our forces came under fire and we had the unfortunate casualty.”

U.S. and Somali forces were ultimately able to return fire and suppress the attack, a U.S. official told ABC News.

No Somali forces were hurt but a Somali interpreter and two U.S. service members were injured.

The United States has about 50 military personnel in the country, Davis said.

The mission was not being carried out under the new expanded authorities granted by the Trump administration for the U.S. military to conduct offensive counterterrorism airstrikes in Somalia targeting al-Shabaab, according to the U.S. official.

US military now authorized to conduct offensive airstrikes in Somalia

“Al-Shabaab presents a threat to Americans and American interests,” U.S. Africa Command said in a statement on Friday. “Al Shabaab’s affiliate, al-Qaeda has murdered Americans; radicalizes and recruits terrorists and fighters in the United States; and attempts to conduct and inspire attacks against Americans, our allies and our interests around the world, including here at home.

“U.S. forces are assisting partner forces to counter al-Shabaab in Somalia to degrade the al-Qaeda affiliate’s ability to recruit, train and plot external terror attacks throughout the region and in America,” the statement added.

Al-Shabaab is the largest faction working to topple the Somali government, seeking to establish a society based on Islamic law, known as Sharia.

Al-Shabaab pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda in 2012. Several years later, the group debated whether it wanted to change its allegiance to ISIS, which was gaining prominence in Iraq and Syria.

Ultimately, al-Shabaab decided not to affiliate itself with ISIS, although a small faction did break away and pledge its allegiance.</s>NEW YORK (CBSNEWS) – The Defense Department has identified the Navy SEAL killed during an operation against al-Shabaab militants in Somalia.

Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Kyle Milliken, 38, was killed during the raid on May 5 about 40 miles west of Mogadishu, the Pentagon said in a release. Milliken was a native of Maine and assigned to a Navy unit based on the East Coast.

Milliken’s death marked the first American battlefield casualty in Somalia since the doomed “Black Hawk Down” mission in 1993 in which 18 American service members were killed in the capital of Mogadishu.

The raid on Friday targeted a local leader of al-Shabaab, an al Qaeda-linked terrorist group. Navy SEALs were advising Somali troops on the mission.</s>WASHINGTON/MOGADISHU A U.S. Navy SEAL was killed and two troops wounded in a clash with al Shabaab militants in Somalia, U.S. officials said on Friday, in what appeared to be the first U.S. combat death in the country since the 1993 "Black Hawk Down" disaster.The White House has granted the U.S. military broader authority to carry out strikes in Somalia against al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab, the latest sign President Donald Trump is increasing U.S. military engagement in the region. U.S. Africa Command said a service member was killed by small arms fire on Thursday while U.S. forces were advising and assisting a Somali National Army operation in Barii about 40 miles (60 km) west of Mogadishu. They did not give further details on the identities of any of the three casualties.A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the man killed was a U.S. Navy SEAL. It was not immediately clear whether the wounded U.S. forces were also from the elite military unit.The U.S. troops were hunting an al Shabaab commander near the Shabelle river alongside Somali special forces, a Mogadishu-based security source told Reuters. There were no Somali casualties.The raid took place at Darusalam village, where Abdirahman Mohamed Warsame, known as Mahad Karate, was believed to be hiding, said another security source. Warsame is the deputy leader of al Shabaab and U.S. authorities have offered $5 million for information that brings him to justice.

"Warsame played a key role in the Amniyat, the wing of al-Shabaab responsible for assassinations and the April 2, 2015 attack on Garissa University College that resulted in 150 deaths," said a statement on the Rewards for Justice website, which is run by the U.S. State Department.It was not clear yet if Warsame was the target of the raid, the security source said. A spokesman for al Shabaab, which wants to overthrow the weak Western-backed Somali government and impose its own strict brand of Islamic law, said U.S. troops had attacked one of their bases. "Last night at 1 a.m. U.S. forces attacked us in Darusalam village, in lower Shabelle region. After fighting, the U.S. forces ran away," said Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab’s military operation spokesman.

"They left ammunition and weapons on the scene and blood stains. First they had a helicopter which landed some kilometres away from our base, to which they walked. We inflicted heavy casualties -- some forces died and others were wounded but we do not have the exact figure."Residents of Darusalam village said the gunfire lasted for around 10 minutes. "Last night, helicopters hovered over us and we were scared. Then late at night, there was fighting," resident Mohamed Hassan told Reuters.U.S. Africa Command said U.S. personnel were working alongside members of the Somali military.

"U.S. forces are assisting partner forces to counter al-Shabaab in Somalia to degrade the al Qaeda affiliate's ability to recruit, train and plot external terror attacks throughout the region and in America," it said in a statement. "Although U.S. forces are not engaged in direct action (in Somalia), advise and assist missions are inherently dangerous," added Robyn Mack, a spokeswoman at the U.S. military’s Africa Command. Somalia has been shattered by civil war that began when clan-based warlords overthrew a dictator in 1991 and then turned on each other. A U.S. military intervention there in 1993 ended after the "Black Hawk Down" incident, when 18 U.S. soldiers were killed after Somali militia shot down two U.S. helicopters in the capital of Mogadishu. African Union peacekeeping forces have been in Somalia since 2007, gradually expanding from the airport to secure the capital and eventually pushing into other major towns. U.S. military advisers have also secretly operated in the country since around 2007. (Additional reporting by Idrees Ali in Washington, Feisal Omar in Mogadishu and Katharine Houreld in Nairobi; Writing by Katharine Houreld; Editing by Catherine Evans)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.</s>SAN DIEGO (KUSI) — A U.S. military member was killed and two others wounded after they were attacked while on a mission advising Somali National Army forces.

A U.S. defense official confirmed the service member killed was a Navy SEAL, according to CNN.

CNN reports the incident happened Thursday during an operation against local al Qaeda affiliate al Shabaab 40 miles west of Mogadishu

"This was an operation targeting an al Shabaab group that had been associated with attacks on US, Somali and AMISOM forces," US Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters Friday, referring to the African Union mission there.

The troops were in Somalia for an ongoing program to advise and assist Somali ground forces. CNN clarifies the mission was not part of the Somalian effort to conduct airstrikes and ground missions against terror targets.

U.S. Navy Capt. Davis said the Navy SEALs and members of the Somali National Army came under fire shortly after landing near an al Shabaab compound.

Davis added that "the attackers were quickly neutralized on the ground."

"This was done under the same authorities that we've had since we began our operations there in 2013, which is to advise and assist on these types of missions," Davis said.

"US forces are assisting partner forces to counter al Shabaab in Somalia to degrade the al Qaeda affiliate's ability to recruit, train and plot external terror attacks throughout the region and in America," according to a news release from US Africa Command.

According to a U.S. military official, this is the first U.S. service member killed in action in Somalia since 1993, when two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down, killing 18 American soldiers during the Battle for Mogadishu.</s>One US Navy SEAL was killed and another two were wounded when they came under small arms fire in Somalia while conducting patrols with local forces as part of an advise and assist mission.

It is the first US troop death there since 2006 when the military stood up US Africa Command (AFRICOM), defense officials said. A Somali translator was also injured, the Pentagon said.

The US troops were alongside members of the Somali National Army when they came under fire roughly 40 miles west of Mogadishu, during an early morning patrol Friday morning local time or Thursday evening US time. When attacked, the troops were in an area where they could not immediately take cover, a defense official told BuzzFeed News. US forces returned fire but it is unclear whether they struck any of their attackers. Regardless, they were able to “suppress” the attack, the Pentagon said.

“U.S. forces are assisting partner forces to counter al-Shabaab in Somalia to degrade the al-Qaeda affiliate's ability to recruit, train and plot external terror attacks throughout the region and in America,” US AFRICOM said in a statement.

US forces are in Somalia to train local forces to combat the terror group, al Shabab, an al Qaeda affiliate that carried out the 2013 attack on Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya killing 60 and injuring another 175. More recently, al Shabab has ramped up attacks against local forces since Somalia's president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed declared war on the terror group last month. Since then, al Shabab has declared responsibility for several attacks targeting local forces at their bases and convoys.

In March, President Donald Trump relaxed rules designed to limit civilian casualties during military operations in Somalia, which some interpreted as a sign of a ramped up military campaign against militants there. In April, the US military announced it was sending roughly 40 counter terrorism troops to the east African nation to support the 50 advise and assist troops already there.

The Navy SEAL’s death marks the fourth US troop death this week. Two Army Rangers died a week ago in Afghanistan during a raid targeting the emir of the ISIS affiliate there, or ISIS-Khorasan. The US military is investigating whether friendly fire killed those troops. The following day in Iraq, a US service member died from an improvised explosive device while supporting local troops there in their ongoing battle to reclaim the Iraqi city of Mosul from ISIS.

Next of kin have been notified, the Pentagon said, but in keeping with department policy, the name will not be released for 24 hours.</s>The Navy SEAL killed in Somalia during an operation against a terrorist group was identified Saturday as Kyle Milliken, a decorated 15-year veteran, NBC News reported.

Milliken, a 38-year-old senior chief special warfare operator from Falmouth, Maine, was killed Thursday in a remote area of Somalia — about 40 miles west of the capital of Mogadishu — after he and his team came under fire from al-Shabab fighters. The attackers were "neutralized," but Milliken was killed and two others were injured.

Rear Adm. Timothy Syzmanksi, the commander of the Naval Special Warfare Command, said Milliken "embodied the warrior spirit and toughness" that represent the Navy SEALS. Milliken was also a member of SEAL Team Six, the elite unit credited with killing Osama bin Laden in 2011, and he earned four Bronze Stars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Milliken is the first U.S. service member to be killed in action in Somalia since the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu that led to the death of 18 service members and wounded 73 others — an event that inspired the book and later Hollywood film, "Black Hawk Down."</s>A US military member was killed and two others wounded in Somalia when they were attacked while on a mission advising Somali National Army forces, US Africa Command confirmed Friday.

The US service member killed in action was a Navy SEAL, a US defense official told CNN.

A US military official confirmed that this is the first US service member killed in action in Somalia since 1993, when two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down and 18 American soldiers were killed in the Battle for Mogadishu.

The incident occurred Thursday during an operation against local al Qaeda affiliate al Shabaab 40 miles west of Mogadishu in the Shebelle region. The wounded, including an interpreter who was also a US citizen, are receiving medical attention, another US defense official told CNN. The troops came under small arms fire.

The US troops were part of an ongoing US military program to advise and assist Somali ground forces. The mission was not part of the stepped-up effort in Somalia to conduct airstrikes and ground missions against terror targets.

“This was an operation targeting an al Shabaab group that had been associated with attacks on US, Somali and AMISOM forces,” US Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters Friday, referring to the African Union mission there.

The US Navy SEALs and their Somali National Army partners were flown in via helicopter and came under fire “in the early phase of the mission” after landing near their target, an al Shabaab compound, according to Davis, adding that “the attackers were quickly neutralized on the ground.”

“This was done under the same authorities that we’ve had since we began our operations there in 2013, which is to advise and assist on these types of missions,” Davis said.

“US forces are assisting partner forces to counter al Shabaab in Somalia to degrade the al Qaeda affiliate’s ability to recruit, train and plot external terror attacks throughout the region and in America,” according to a news release from US Africa Command.

US Africa Command announced last month that it was sending sending “dozens” of additional troops to Somalia to train and equip the Somali National Army and the forces participating in the African Union Mission there.

A US military official has told CNN that the new contingent would consist of about 40 soldiers.

The US troops will join the small number of US Special Operations Forces already there providing counterterrorism support to local forces battling al Shabaab. That advisory mission, consisting of about 50 Special Operations Forces, has been underway since 2013.

The new training effort comes as US military leaders see opportunities to work with Somalia’s newly elected president, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, a dual US-Somali citizen who has embarked on a series of aggressive military reforms amid an ongoing al Shabaab bombing campaign that has repeatedly struck Mogadishu.</s>Washington (CNN)- A Navy SEAL who was killed in an operation against terrorist group al-Shabaab in Somalia earlier this week has been identified by the Department of Defense as Kyle Milliken, 38, of Falmouth, Maine.

Milliken, a senior chief special warfare operator, was killed Thursday in a remote area of Somalia 40 miles west of Mogadishu when he and other troops came under small-arms fire.

Milliken was a member of SEAL Team Six, a defense official confirmed to CNN. The elite special operations unit, which led the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, was on a scheduled deployment to East Africa for training and carrying out counterterrorism missions. The target in Somalia was a local al-Shabaab leader who had been involved in planning attacks against facilities used by US and African forces in Somalia.

"Senior Chief Kyle Milliken embodied the warrior spirit and toughness infused in our very best Navy SEALs," Rear Adm. Timothy Szymanski, commander of the Naval Special Warfare Command, said in a statement. "We grieve his death, but we celebrate his life and many accomplishments. He is irreplaceable as a husband, father, son, friend and teammate -- and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and teammates."

Two other military service members were wounded in the operation, including an interpreter who was also a US citizen, a US defense official told CNN.

A US military official confirmed that this is the first US service member killed in action in Somalia since 1993, when two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters were shot down and 18 American soldiers were killed in the Battle for Mogadishu.

The US troops were part of a US military program to advise and assist Somali ground forces. The mission was not part of the stepped-up effort in Somalia to conduct airstrikes and ground missions against terror targets.</s>R.I.P. and we thank you for fighting for us.

A US Navy SEAL has been killed during an operation targeting the Islamic militant group al-Shabaab in Somalia, according to reports Friday.

“US forces were conducting an advise and assist mission alongside members of the Somali National Army,” the US Africa Command said in a statement about the raid, which took place Thursday about 40 miles west of Mogadishu.

The statement did not specify which branch of the military the service member served in, but a Defense Department official told The New York Times that he was a SEAL team member.

A US official told CBS News that two other Americans were wounded in the same firefight.
A United States Navy SEAL is killed, becoming the first U.S. service member killed in Somalia since 1993, and three others are injured in a gunfight with al-Shabaab militants, west of Mogadishu.