US airstrike kills 18 al-Shabab after US attacked in Somalia
JOHANNESBURG -- A US military airstrike has killed 18 al-Shabab extremists after US and local forces on the ground came under attack in southern Somalia, the US Africa Command said Saturday.
No US or Somali forces were killed or injured in the attack, an AFRICOM spokesman, Nate Herring, told The Associated Press. The airstrike was carried out Friday in self-defense after extremists were "observed maneuvering on a combined patrol," while the US also responded with "indirect fire," the spokesman said.
The confrontation occurred about 50 kilometers (31 miles) northwest of the port city of Kismayo, the US Africa Command statement said. Two other al-Shabab extremists were killed by Somali forces "with small arms fire during the engagement," it said.
The operation was Somali-led, the AFRICOM spokesman said. There was no immediate comment from Somali authorities.
