“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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. “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.
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.