“We Will Kill You”: Trump Bombs ISIS Militants in Somalia
According to a statement by newly confirmed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the airstrike killed multiple ISIS operatives and avoided civilian casualties.
Over the weekend, the U.S. military conducted air strikes against the so-called “Islamic State” (ISIS) in Somalia.
U.S. aircraft struck ISIS positions in the Golis mountains, in the northwest part of the country. The strikes eliminated multiple insurgents, and did not harm any civilians, according to the Pentagon.
Air Strikes Against Terrorists
Somalia has grappled with a domestic and international Islamic terrorist movement for years now.
“This morning I ordered precision Military air strikes on the Senior ISIS Attack Planner and other terrorists he recruited and led in Somalia,” President Trump wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
According to a statement by newly-confirmed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the airstrike killed multiple ISIS operatives and avoided civilian casualties. The Pentagon decided to go forward with the air strikes because it saw an opportunity to further diminish ISIS’ capabilities in the region.
“This action further degrades ISIS’s ability to plot and conduct terrorist attacks threatening U.S. citizens, our partners, and innocent civilians and sends a clear signal that the United States always stands ready to find and eliminate terrorists who threaten the United States and our allies, even as we conduct robust border-protection and many other operations under President Trump’s leadership,” Hegseth said.
Several parts of Africa remain a hotbed of terrorism, with frequent and deadly terrorist attacks against innocents.
“These killers, who we found hiding in caves, threatened the United States and our Allies. The strikes destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians,” Trump added in his statement. “Our Military has targeted this ISIS Attack Planner for years, but Biden and his cronies wouldn’t act quickly enough to get the job done. I did! The message to ISIS and all others who would attack Americans is that ‘WE WILL FIND YOU, AND WE WILL KILL YOU!’”
During the first Trump administration, the U.S. military struck a heavy blow against ISIS when it killed its infamous “caliph” Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a commando raid.
Somali Government Gives Approval
Following the strike in Somalia, the office of the Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud acknowledged the air strikes and stated that he had been informed of the imminent U.S. military action. The office added that President Mohamud reaffirmed his gratitude to the U.S. and “the unwavering support of the United States in our shared fight against terrorism.”
The U.S. military has remained active in the Horn of Africa since the emergence of Islamist terror threats in the early 2000s. For more than a year, the U.S. Navy and Air Force have conducted combat operations against the Houthi rebels and their Iranian backers in Yemen, across the Red Sea from Somalia. Aircraft and warships are there to ensure the safety of commercial and civilian shipping.
While the international community has mostly remained focused on Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, the United States has had to confront a plethora of other threats. The air strikes against ISIS in Somalia over the weekend further demonstrate the global force projection capabilities of the U.S. military.
About the Author: Stavros Atlamazoglou
Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
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