US airstrike outside Somalia's capital kills 4 al-Shabab
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The U.S. military says it has killed four members of the al-Shabab extremist group with a "self-defense airstrike" outside Somalia's capital after partner forces were attacked.
The U.S. Africa Command statement says the airstrike occurred on Saturday near Basra, a community outside the capital, Mogadishu. The statement says no civilians were involved.
The U.S. military has carried out 39 airstrikes this year against the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab, Africa's most active Islamic extremist group, which controls parts of rural southern and central Somalia and continues to stage deadly attacks in Mogadishu and other cities.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The U.S. airstrikes have picked up dramatically since President Donald Trump took office and approved expanded military operations in the Horn of Africa nation. Airstrikes also target a small presence of fighters linked to the Islamic State group.